


Under the moonlight

by mintchocthusiast (hwanghyunjin03)



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Romance, Slice of Life, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:01:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 26,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26476897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hwanghyunjin03/pseuds/mintchocthusiast
Summary: "I mean," Hyunjin pauses, looking at him up and down. "Look at you. Innocent eyes. Dumpling cheeks. Adorable serious expression. I don’t think the audience would take you seriously even if you make an angry face. You're too cute for a villain role."Seungmin freezes, blinking his eyes a few times, staring at the guy in half disbelief of what he just heard. There’s a silence before he finally finds his voice. "...what?""I said, you're too cute. You’ve always been cute."----Seungmin is a new student, and Hyunjin is the dorm representative. Instead of just helping Seungmin adapt to the college environment, Hyunjin finds himself falling in love with Seungmin.
Relationships: Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin
Comments: 26
Kudos: 174
Collections: EQUINOX





	1. Unfortunate Incident

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt #77 
> 
> Dear anon, thank you for your prompt and I'm hoping that this fic meets your expectation! I really tried my best. This prompt allowed me to explore stuff here and there, and I really enjoyed writing. To the moderators, thank you for making this seungjin ficfest happened! :D

Hyunjin hates Friday. He doesn’t particularly hate Friday, he just has a tiny wee bit of dislike toward Friday, because Friday means he has to wake up really early in the morning and attend a class that he isn't really fond of, but _this particular_ Friday is going to change his life.

It takes three alarms for Hyunjin’s eyes to finally flicker open and slowly adjust his vision to the sunlight striking through the window in the room, blinking his eyes a few times to wash the sleepiness away. He stares sleepily at the white ceiling for a moment before finally roaming his hands around the flat mattress, searching for his loudly blaring phone. Shutting the alarm off and putting his phone aside, Hyunjin lets out a tired sigh and lazily sits up, roughly ruffling his raven hair out of habit and letting the hair strands fall into his eyes.

“Hwang Hyunjin, rise and shine. It’s Friday.”

A voice singsongs, to which making Hyunjin grunts at the mention of Friday. The owner of the voice emerges from the bathroom all dressed up in a white tee and black pants with a towel wrapped quite neatly around his head and flashes a radiant smile at Hyunjin. He waltzes his way through the room and settles down at his study table, beginning to do his usual morning routine, which is applying some facial products that Hyunjin is unfamiliar with despite rooming together with the guy for four semesters in a row now. 

His roommate, Minho, two years older than himself, is an early riser, always waking up early for his morning jog, an activity Hyunjin despises the most, exercising. Hyunjin quietly watches the older guy with his hawk eyes, simply observing. 

“What are you applying for if you’re just going for a morning jog?” he asks, genuinely curious.

Minho rolls his eyes at the question. “It’s a sunscreen, you dummy. It protects my glowing face and skin from the sunlight." He pauses his activity and turns his head to Hyunjin’s direction, observing him for good seconds. “You should start wearing sunscreen if you don’t want to get your face or skin wrinkled by the age of thirty, and I mean it.”

Hyunjin shrugs and rises from the bed. He grabs his towels and his clothes, a grey hoodie, and black jeans, and heads to the bathroom for a shower. Before he steps inside the bathroom and disappears through the doorway, he says, "Minho, help me choose a sunscreen when we go out later in the evening."

A satisfied smile grows quickly on Minho’s face. "Oh, right. Hyunjin, wait," he says and Hyunjin stops his track, arching his brows upward and displaying a _'what'_ expression, gazing lazily at the older guy. "Are you going to the gathering tonight?"

Hyunjin's brows knit together in confusion, tilting his head slightly to the side. "What gathering? Whose?"

"Chan. He's inviting some people for a mini gathering some sorts at his house."

Hyunjin scrunches his face and shakes his head, pursing his lips. "No, I'll pass."

"Why?" Minho whines immediately, "It'll be fun."

"You know I won't go. As much as I like socializing, gatherings or parties aren't my things. My things are reading books accompanied by music in the background, or watching movies while snuggling under the comforter in my comfy bed, or watching the twinkling stars under the moonlight."

"God, you're such a sap. I hope your future soulmate likes whatever you like so that they don’t have to suffer," Minho casually comments and shakes his head before turning back to his table to continue his morning routine. 

Hyunjin scoffs at the remark. “You know, a good partner would try to understand my preference even if they don’t like them. Besides, not like my preferences are terrible things to do.”

“If I were your boyfriend, I think I would suffer. So, no thanks.”

Hyunjin rolls his eyes and scowls, annoyed by his roommate's demeanor. “Good thing you’re not my boyfriend then.”

Minho snickers, amused. “Touche.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The first time Seungmin meets Hyunjin is when the latter crashes onto Seungmin's back by accident because Seungmin is getting lost in searching for the administrative office on his very first day of college. 

Seungmin lets out a sigh as he steers the wheel of his car with one hand and carefully makes a right turn, driving slowly along the road and eyes scanning around to find the parking lot. When he finally spots a parking sign not far from where he’s at, he speeds up the car a little and swiftly parks in front of a building. He turns off the engine and picks up his backpack before getting off of the car. 

Seungmin stands there, still, with a hand inside his grey hoodie's pocket and another holding the strap of his backpack slinging on his shoulder while his eyes survey around his new college. His new college is definitely bigger than the one he attended previously.

Seungmin sighs, nervous and anxious. He isn't sure if he's going to like the place because it's a little too quiet to his liking.

With heavy feet and a slightly thumping heart, Seungmin makes his way into the building, gripping tight to the backpack’s strap. After a few minutes inside, his search for the administrative office comes to a halt when he fails to locate it, looking everywhere in the hallway for a sign or any indication at all, but there’s nothing that can show him the way to the office. Knowing that he eventually has to seek for the information, Seungmin sighs, having to brace himself and ask from one of the people passing by.

Seungmin contemplates for another few seconds, feet unconsciously taking a few steps backward while his eyes are looking around the area. It’s right then he feels his back crashing on something, _or someone_. His breath hitches sharply and immediately he stops his track, swiftly turning his heel to see a guy in a grey hoodie and black jeans standing in front of him, and his eyes grow wide at the sight of a few colored papers scattering on the floor.

The guy stares at him with a piercing gaze for a while before letting out a tired sigh and then crouching down to pick up his scattering papers. Panicking and feeling guilty that he caused such incidents, Seungmin follows suit and begins to mutter a few words of apologies, helping the guy to collect the papers. He’s apologizing and frantically collecting the scattered papers when he feels a hand grabbing his forearm, stopping his movement at once. Seungmin stares at the hand before slowly looking up and meeting the guy’s eyes.

“Hey, I said it’s fine so stop apologizing, okay?” the guy assures in a soft voice.

Seungmin doesn’t even realize that he becomes a little bit panicked which results in him not hearing anything from the guy at first. He blinks his eyes at him and nods timidly. Standing up after clearing everything off the floor, Seungmin realizes that the papers in his hands aren’t plain but they’re photos. He briefly takes a look at one of them; a close-up photo of a beautiful orange cat.

“Wow, the photo is really pretty,” he casually compliments, handing them all back to the guy.

It’s then Seungmin can look at the guy properly. The first two words that come into his mind about him are _tall_ and _handsome_. The guy standing in front of him has raven hair, neatly styled and smoothly falling in a pair of sharp eyes, a beauty mark under his left eye, two more on each of his cheeks, fair skin, and plump full lips, which complements his whole feature. Seungmin can say he’s a little starstruck by the visual of the guy before his eyes and in all honesty, he can stare at that kind of face the whole day but he doesn’t have a whole day. 

Seungmin snaps back to reality when he sees a warm smile grow on the guy’s face, making his initial intimidating facade disappear at once and he swears his stomach flips at the sight. Maybe his day just gets a tad bit better.

Seungmin thinks the guy is really cute when he smiles.

“Thanks for the compliment, I guess.”

“And sorry again,” Seungmin says apologetically, bowing slightly.

The guy is about to leave when Seungmin remembers the _one_ _tiny question_ he’s supposed to ask, stopping him with an awkward hand gesture.

“Yes?” The guy’s brows rise, shooting him a questioning, yet curious look.

Seungmin clears his throat immediately and asks, “May I know where the admin office is?”

“If you walk down the hallway, you’ll see a staircase on your right. The admin office is on the second floor,” the guy tells him, pointing to a direction as he explains, and then comes the magic question. “Are you new here?”

Seungmin flashes a quick polite smile and nods twice in response. “Thank you,” he mutters softly, “I’ll be going then, and sorry, again.” 

He retreats backward, turns his heel, and begins to march toward the said direction. After settling everything in the admin office, he is handed a piece of paper which turns out to be his schedule (every subject is already fixed since he comes to the college on the fifth day after it begins). Taking a look at it for a bit, Seungmin realizes he has a morning class for today and it just barely begins. Wasting no time, he walks out of the office and heads for his first class.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The first time Hyunjin learns Seungmin's name is when the Head Dorm, Mr. Tuan, introduces him to a new 2nd year student who just moved college for some reason and Mr. Tuan has asked him to assist Seungmin because he's the dorm representative. It's also the very same day Hyunjin learns that Seungmin has pretty much the same interest as himself.

Hyunjin slowly pushes the door open when he reaches the lecture hall, finding a few students already inside the hall sitting at their respective seats and promptly glancing at him before shifting their attention elsewhere. Lazily, he brings his feet to his usual seat located somewhere in the middle, plopping himself and tossing his backpack on the table. Fishing out his phone from his pocket, he begins to scroll down his social media for the next twenty minutes. 

When the professor comes in, Hyunjin quickly puts his phone on silent mode and keeps it away, having his attention to the front as he takes out a notebook and a pen. It’s right before the professor begins the lecture when someone emerges through the door, hurriedly nodding his head politely to the professor before storming off to the back and sitting on a seat.

Hyunjin promptly steals a glance of the guy, realizing that it’s the same person he bumped into earlier in the hallway. Feeling a nudge on his elbow from his left, Hyunjin turns his head to meet his friend’s eyes and gives him a questioning look.

“Did you promise the new guy to wear a couple clothes?” Felix teases, barely whispering, and snickers. Hyunjin takes a look at his clothes and then swiftly turns to glimpse at the new guy’s; they are indeed wearing the same exact clothes. _Goosebumps_. He shifts his attention to the red-haired guy and says, “Shut up, Lix. Ever heard about coincidence? I think it’s called a mere coincidence. Besides, I don’t know him.”

“Coincidence it is,” Felix mutters, nodding in agreement as he takes a glimpse of the new guy and smiles. “But, he’s cute.”

“Yeah, quite,” Hyunjin mindlessly agrees, and he hears a snort after that. Only then he realizes what he has said, ultimately falling into one of Felix’s tricks. The raven-haired guy swiftly turns his head to Felix to find the redhead grinning knowingly, wiggling his brows playfully as if he just discovers an exciting new secret about Hyunjin.

“What is this I'm smelling in the air? It's sweet and soft. I think it's called love,” Felix teases excitedly, making a sniffing action while closing his eyes with a goofy smile on his face. Hyunjin grunts and rolls his eyes in irritation, deciding to not pay attention to the guy before any of his words give him more ideas.

_Felix 1:0 Hyunjin._

Hyunjin’s mouth quirks upward on one side slyly when he’s reminded of something about Felix, tilting his head slightly to the guy and giving him a devilish smirk. “Lix, just worry about yourself. How long more you’re going to pine for Chan? It’s been like, what, two years? Or three?” 

Hyunjin wiggles his brows, happily teasing Felix. The redhead’s bright expression quickly turns sour, lips jutting out into a pout. “You don’t have to do me dirty like that,” he whines. Hyunjin has to suppress his giggle watching Felix slamming his face onto the table, satisfied with his counter attack.

_Hyunjin 1:1 Felix._

  
  
  
  


Hyunjin needs to attend only two classes on Friday —a three-hour lecture and an hour tutorial— yet he feels really drained as if he were having classes for the whole day. As soon as he reaches his dorm room, he tosses his backpack away and jumps face planted onto his bed, sighing tiredly. He’s too tired to even roll to the better side of the mattress. 

Realizing he has a bunch of assignments to complete, though it's only the first week of the semester —his professors have no mercy when it comes to assignments and they usually give the students a ton of them— Hyunjin groans in frustration and screams into his pillow. He lazily brings himself to sit up after that, taking him his whole energy to finally move. He changes to a new set of comfortable clothes and begins to do his assignments.

Hyunjin is brainstorming ideas for one of his assignments when he hears several knocks on the door of his room, halting his activity at once. Tossing his pen away, he rises from the chair and makes his way toward the door, opening it to reveal the Head Dorm, Mr. Tuan.

“Hello, Mr. Tuan. What brings you here?” Hyunjin asks, lips naturally pulling into a small polite smile. It’s right at that moment the corner of his eyes catches the sight of a certain brunet standing almost timidly next to Mr. Tuan.

_Oh._ _It’s the new guy._

The brunet seems a tiny wee bit startled when their gazes meet, and Hyunjin isn’t sure why.

“Hyunjin, this is Seungmin,” Mr. Tuan introduces, pointing to the pursed lips brunet. “He’s a new 2nd-year student, and this is Hyunjin, the dorm representative. If you have questions about anything at all, you can ask me or him. But, I personally think you’ll feel more comfortable asking him rather than me. Seungmin, what’s your major again?”

“Photography & Media,” Seungmin answers in a soft voice, making Hyunjin’s eyes light up delightfully at the information.

“You two are in the same major then? Great. Hyunjin, I’d like you to assist Seungmin since he’s new here, and also, please show him around the college.”

“Sure, that would be no problem,” Hyunjin agrees easily, smiling brightly. Besides, it’s one of his duties to guide and assist new students or anyone who needs help after all. In other words, he can’t exactly say no, especially if it’s a request from their Head Dorm.

“Then, I’ll leave him to you.” 

With that, Mr. Tuan takes his leave and they watch him disappear from their sight before shifting their attention to each other simultaneously as silence ensues, making the atmosphere somewhat awkward. 

“You,” Hyunjin says monotonously, deliberately staring at the brunet with a neutral expression.

“Me,” Seungmin replies as he averts Hyunjin’s gaze on him and his head hangs low, looking down at their feet, pressing his lips into a thin line.

“You,” Hyunjin repeats in the same tone.

“Me…” Seungmin lets out a sigh. He looks up and locks his eyes with Hyunjin’s after that.

“Teen Wolf reference?” they ask the question at the same time and burst into a peal of hearty laughter right after that, bumping their fists together. Hyunjin couldn’t believe he found someone who has the same interest as himself, feeling his stomach bubble with giddiness.

“So, where’s your room?” Hyunjin asks, genuinely curious about his newly-made friend’s room. Seungmin gestures to the room numbered 1422 opposite his own, and Hyunjin’s face brightens.

“Oh, convenient and just nice. You’re rooming together with Jisung. He’s, hm, nice, I guess?” Hyunjin shrugs at the thought of his dorm neighbor, not bothering to explain further. “Do you need help with setting up your room?”

Seungmin only stares at him with a blank face, making Hyunjin internally flustered. He waits nonetheless. Seungmin shrugs his shoulders. “If you want to.”

Hyunjin slowly breathes out and flashes a soft smile. “I need to do a quick tidy-up so I’ll be there in a minute,” he tells him, gesturing to his messy table at the back.

Seungmin gives him a nod and a small smile before retreating to his own room without saying anything else. As soon as the door is closed, Hyunjin quickly goes over to his table and keeps everything in order before heading out. Standing in front of Seungmin’s room, Hyunjin knocks on the door twice and waits for the permission of the room's occupant. Hearing a faint ‘ _come in_ ’ from the inside, he reaches for the doorknob and twists it, pushing open the door, peeking his head to find the room full of several boxes everywhere in the room.

It’s messy, and there’s only a narrow path for Hyunjin to pass through. He doesn’t dare to turn and witness the other side of the room, which is obviously Jisung’s.

“Seems like you are halfway done.” Hyunjin surveys the room and notices Seungmin already set up almost everything, from the bedsheet to the wardrobe, seemingly leaving his study table and a few other things, and also a _major_ cleaning. “Is there anything I can help you with?” he asks. He's genuine about wanting to help.

Seungmin stops unpacking one of his boxes and cranes his head up, locking his eyes with Hyunjin’s. “You know you don’t have to, right? I'm almost done anyway,” he bluntly says.

Hyunjin’s lips quirk upward. “I know, but I want to.” 

He squats down to the nearest box he can reach, looking at Seungmin for a brief moment to ask for permission. When the brunet gives an affirmative nod, he begins to remove the tape, gingerly opening the box. 

“Oh, books!” he squeals in a tiny voice excitedly, gaining attention from Seungmin. 

“Let’s see what you got here.” Hyunjin carefully takes out the books one by one and places them on the floor. “The Maze Runner, Percy Jackson, The Infernal Devices series, I’ve only read The Mortal Instruments series,” he pauses and lets out a loud gasp when his eyes catch the sight of a set of books he has always wanted to read for ages, but never really get the chance to. 

“Oh, my God, you have a complete set of Harry Potter!” he exclaims, staring longingly at one of the books in his grip. “I’ve only watched all eight Harry Potter movies so far.”

Seungmin, who has been staring in a daze since the raven-haired guy squealed over his books, finally returns back to reality and speaks, “You should really read the books. It’s more detailed compared to the movies, thus more fun.”

Hyunjin’s eyes grow in anticipation, gleaming brightly. “Really?”

Seungmin nods twice, and before he can go back to unpacking his things, Hyunjin shoots him an unexpected question, a question he doesn’t see coming at all, even when he perceives Hyunjin as someone who likes to read as well.

“Can I borrow your books?” Hyunjin asks with hope gleaming in his eyes. His eyes sparkle so bright that Seungmin can’t look away, so he chews his cheeks and doesn’t answer the question. He’s reluctant. The guy continues to persuade, slightly pouting his lips. “Pretty please? I’m too broke to buy new books.”

“You can read e-books,” Seungmin suggests quickly, a brow arching upward and hoping Hyunjin would agree to his suggestion. In all honesty, he doesn’t really want to lend his books to Hyunjin or anyone at all. He loves his books way too much. Besides, he just gets to know the guy less than an hour, so he would rather not risk his precious books.

“But I like physical books more. The smell of books is really nice. E-books don't smell. You as a book lover should know that physical books are better than e-books.” Hyunjin sure doesn't have a _give up_ in his life dictionary. Seungmin lets out a defeated sigh, completely won over by the single statement.

Hyunjin really has his way of talking.

“Okay. I agree with you that one. I can lend you my books with the condition you will take good care of them.”

A triumph grin grows on Hyunjin’s face, eyes crinkling into crescents. “Of course! I love books too, you know so you can trust me. I'll take good care of them.”

Seungmin stifles a laugh at the guy’s antics and nods understandingly. “Okay then.” 

As he’s about to continue unpacking his things (again), someone with dirty blond hair barges through the door and loudly announces, “I’m home, b—” he pauses his sentence midway when he spots Hyunjin in the room.

“Wait, am I in the right room?” he asks in confusion as he checks the room’s number, hands on his hips. “Right. It’s my room. What the hell are you doing here, Jin? Did I forget to lock the door again?” 

Jisung looks at him, blinking his eyes in a daze that Hyunjin is in the room. He then notices another guy in the room, making him frown in confusion. “And who are you?”

Hyunjin clears his throat and introduces them to each other. “Jisung, your new roommate, Seungmin. Seungmin, this is the _not-so-nice_ Jisung.”

“You jackass,” Jisung snarls at the crappy introduction of himself, bringing his fists up, ready to fight. Hyunjin bursts into a fit of laughter, throwing his head to the back. Jisung has to hold himself from jumping onto Hyunjin and physically attacking him right there at that moment.

“Hey,” Seungmin mumbles and gives him a polite smile. Jisung’s expression immediately changes from grim to a bright smile and returns his greeting with a tiny excited wave, to Seungmin's amusement.

“Ah, I’m going to miss having the room for myself,” Jisung mutters, tossing his backpack, and his bed bounces with its weight. He instantly adds, “No offense, Seungmin.”

Seungmin raises both hands and nonchalantly shrugs. “None is taken.” And he continues where he left off.

Jisung’s face brightens and his eyes light up gleefully, his smile growing into an excited grin. “I love this guy already. Let’s catch up later, Min. Need to run for work. See you!”

Picking up his jacket, he waves a goodbye and disappears through the door, leaving the two guys on their own. Just when they finish unpacking and cleaning up everything, Hyunjin’s phone _dings_ , indicating a text message just comes in. He slips his hand into the pocket, takes it out, and reads it.

**From: Sassy Minho**

I’m done with class. Where are you?

“Oh crap,” Hyunjin curses out loud, slapping his forehead instinctively when he remembers that he’s going out with Minho. He winces at the thought of the older guy nagging at him like there’s no tomorrow. He looks up from his phone to see Seungmin is gazing at him curiously with raised brows.

“Oh, it’s just my roommate. I forgot that we have a date.” 

“Oh.” 

Hyunjin takes notice of slight changes in Seungmin’s expression, but he doesn't think much of it and returns his attention back to his phone, quickly replying to Minho.

**To: Sassy Minho**

Pick me up at our usual place in ten minutes.

“I have to go,” Hyunjin says, keeping his phone back into his pocket and dusting his hands as he stands, eyes scanning around the room. There's only one box left to unpack, and Hyunjin is sure Seungmin can settle it by himself, but now he’s contemplating whether he should ask if Seungmin wants to go to the town too and he’s confident Minho wouldn’t mind an extra passenger. 

“Uh, I’m going to town. Do you want to tag along?” Hyunjin asks, hoping Seungmin would say yes. For what reason he doesn’t know. “We can show you around the town or something.”

Hyunjin notices the way Seungmin’s eyes light up at his offer, but then becomes dim a second after as if realizing something Hyunjin doesn't know. After considering for a while, Seungmin politely declines, saying he has to finish unpacking everything before the night comes. It’s a legit reason, but Hyunjin can’t help feeling disappointed.

“It’s Saturday tomorrow. Do you want to tour around the college?” Hyunjin asks before he leaves.

Seungmin gives it a thought for a moment before a warm smile graces his face, nodding in agreement. “Sure, I’d love to.”

“See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, see you.”


	2. The Light Fest

Seungmin doesn’t hate asking for help, he’s just not very fond of it. It makes him nervous and anxious. He’s usually independent, not relying on other people that much, but for this very reason, Seungmin has to ask for help because he's just a human being who, unfortunately, has weaknesses.

Seungmin sighs.

It’s Sunday night and he's been standing in front of a room for almost fifteen minutes now while staring hopelessly at the white A4 paper in his grip. He bites his lower lip nervously, contemplating every five seconds whether he should knock on the door of the room or not. He tells himself that he needs to pull himself together and knock on the _damn_ door for his own sake. 

He eventually does thirty seconds later, and then nervously waits for it to be opened.

When the door is opened, Seungmin is met with a jet black-haired guy, Hyunjin’s roommate, Minho, looking at him with a pair of curious doe eyes, and he gives off a vibe of an intimidating person once they make eye contact. It gives Seungmin a shiver. He feels small the moment the sharp gaze lays on him. The impression immediately breaks when Minho flashes a small smile, tilting his head curiously. Seungmin allows himself to relax a bit.

“Is Hyunjin here?” he asks carefully in a soft voice, slightly worrying if his voice cracks in the mid-sentence because thanks to his nervous system, he feels like choking.

“Jin! A cute boy is looking for you,” Minho shouts, slightly startling Seungmin. Warmth begins to crawl up his neck when he realizes what the guy just addressed him. He rubs the nape of his neck awkwardly, eyes wandering elsewhere.

“Uh?” Seungmin hears a faint voice coming from inside. “Who?”

“I told you, a cute boy!” Minho continues to shout as if Seungmin isn’t in front of him, and the latter only stands there blinking, fingers gripping to the paper in his hand.

“Who?!” Hyunjin asks, louder.

Minho grumbles and shouts back frustratingly, “Come out later and see for yourself!” 

His attention is returned to Seungmin again after that, observing him for a few good seconds and eventually inviting him in. “Come in and wait inside. Hyunjin is in the shower. He’ll be out in a few minutes.” 

Without saying anything at all, Seungmin timidly steps inside and closes the door behind him, eyes darting around the room instinctively. Hyunjin’s room is pretty organized and neat, to his surprise.

Wait, what was he expecting? No idea. What he does know is that Hyunjin’s room is tidier than his room. It’s probably something to ponder about.

“Please have a seat,” Minho offers, “Anywhere but my bed.”

Seungmin smiles gratefully at Minho and sinks on the bed he assumes belongs to Hyunjin, the bedsheet is navy with small yellow stars decorating it, and the blanket is light blue, to which he thinks it’s a pretty color combination. Staring down at his feet, he sits quietly and waits for Hyunjin to finish showering. Five minutes later, Hyunjin finally emerges from the bathroom, fully clothed in a white tee and black knee-level shorts with a hand holding onto a small towel, his damp hair falling into his eyes, water still dripping from the tips of his hair. 

Looking up slowly, Seungmin watches him from the toes up to the top, noticing the drips of water running through his jaw and down to his neck. He tries not to visibly gulp at the sight, locking eyes with the raven-haired boy who is starting to dry up his hair with one hand. 

Hyunjin’s eyes light up in surprise when his eyes catch the sight of Seungmin, lips curving upward into a bright smile. 

“Hey, Seungmin, what’s up?” he asks with raised brows. He shuffles over to his bed and sinks next to Seungmin on the mattress. There’s quite a distance between them. He wraps the towel around his neck. A few seconds later, his eyes twitch and brows furrow together, his bright expression turning concerned all of sudden.

“You okay?” Hyunjin asks with a hint of concern in his voice. As if being summoned from his deep thought, Seungmin blinks his eyes a few times before shaking his head slightly to get rid of whatever thoughts run in his mind and meeting Hyunjin’s eyes. 

“What did you say?”

“Are you okay? Your face is slightly red.”

Upon the statement, Seungmin quickly averts his gaze, looking everywhere else but Hyunjin. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little bit warm, I guess,” he says and smiles sheepishly.

“So, what brings you here?”

“Oh, right. Um, you see my sense of direction is a bit poor,” Seungmin begins hesitantly, bringing the paper in his hand into their sight, “I know you’ve toured me around the college yesterday and I appreciated it, but I think I still need help,” he pauses and warily glances at the guy beside him. “I’m wondering if we can compare our schedules and see if we have classes together so I can tag you along?”

There’s an obvious hesitation in his voice by the end of the sentence as Seungmin isn’t sure if he’s doing the right thing. He spends the whole day just thinking about it and he doesn’t want to risk showing up late to the classes just because he has trouble finding the classrooms due to his almost zero sense of direction. Seungmin holds his gaze on Hyunjin, silently anticipating the latter’s response. He doesn’t know what he should hope for.

Hyunjin’s lips grow into a brighter smile and Seungmin heaves a sigh of relief at the sight. It's a good sign.

“Sure, wait a second.”

Seungmin watches Hyunjin rise from the bed, continuing to talk as he walks over to his study table and takes down a paper from the board. 

“I'm glad you asked because I was wondering if a one-day tour is enough for you because if it were me, I was sure it wasn’t enough, having a terrible memory and all.”

He returns to the bed and flops down on the mattress next to Seungmin, a little closer than intended. Hyunjin instinctively leans his body closer to Seungmin while holding up to his schedule. A gasp almost escapes Seungmin’s mouth when his nose catches a tangy smell of lemon and a sweet smell of rose from Hyunjin. He freezes, momentarily enchanted by Hyunjin’s scents.

Seungmin thinks Hyunjin smells _really_ nice, and it’s sort of doing things to his mind.

“Let’s see. Oh, we share half of the classes. That’s great. We have a class tomorrow morning at 11, so do you want to go together?”

It takes him a second to snap out of it. Seungmin smiles gratefully and nods, agreeing immediately. “Yeah, that would be nice.”

Hyunjin grins delightfully before his bright expression gradually fades, replaced with a questioning look, remembering that Seungmin attended one of his classes previously. “But you found the class just fine last Friday?”

“Oh, that was the only class I attended since the lecture hall is near to the admin office.”

Hyunjin nods, understand. “Oh. Glad you did though. The professor literally doesn’t give a damn about students’ excuses when it comes to attendance. He could have failed you straight away for missing his first class and make you take the class again next semester.” He shudders at the thought of taking the same class again next semester. “The weird thing is that he's okay if students come late, up to thirty minutes.”

Seungmin’s lips part slightly when he thinks back to him being late on his first day. The professor didn’t even say anything and continued the lecture like nobody’s business. “The only cool thing about him then?”

Hyunjin snickers, amused. “I guess.”

_Mm-hmm._

Hearing a voice clearing their throat, both of them simultaneously turn their heads to the owner of the voice, finding Minho is staring at them with a pair of bright anticipating eyes. “Hyunjin, don’t you want to introduce me to this cute boy?” he asks, smirking.

Hyunjin rolls his eyes at his roommate’s demeanor. “Meet Seungmin, Jisung’s roommate, and this is Minho, _obviously_ my roommate and a 4th year major in Practical Dance.”

“Hi, nice to meet you.” Minho smiles sweetly and sends him a flirty wink. Seungmin’s lips part in mild shock, unknowingly scrunching his face slightly in disgust afterward. Minho lets out a soft giggle watching Seungmin’s reaction. 

“Minho, I’m going to tell Jisung you’re flirting with his roommate,” Hyunjin warns in a stern voice, giving him a murderous glare. 

Minho smirks and throws Hyunjin a knowing look, his brow arches upward. “Hostile much?”

Seungmin gives both of them a weird look as he rises from Hyunjin’s bed. “Um, I’ll be going then. See you tomorrow, Hyunjin. And, nice to meet you too, Minho.”

Hyunjin raises his hand and gives him a tiny wave, sending Seungmin off. “Yeah, see you.”

“What was that about…,” Seungmin mumbles to himself in confusion once the door is closed, thinking about the conversation Minho and Hyunjin had just now. It’s strangely unsettling. He opens the door to his room and enters, closing it behind his back.

“You’re back.” Jisung’s sudden voice startles him from his thoughts, making Seungmin turn his head to his roommate, who is sitting at his study table, seemingly like he’s studying, _or not?_ Seungmin can’t tell. “Where have you been?”

Seungmin walks over to his table and plops down on the chair, laying his schedule paper flat on the table. “Just our front neighbor, Hyunjin. Asked him for help and some sort.”

“Oh, I assumed you already met my boyfriend then?” 

Seungmin blinks his eyes, confused as to who Jisung is talking about. His puzzled expression must have been obvious to the dirty blond-haired guy that he begins to speak again.

“Minho? Hyunjin’s roommate? He’s my boyfriend.”

_Blank._

His mouth gapes open. His head is empty, staring at nothing but air. If Jisung is Minho’s boyfriend, then why would Hyunjin go on a date with Minho? He wonders if Minho is cheating on Jisung with Hyunjin, or is there something he missed or misunderstood? He’s convinced that he misunderstood.

Seungmin eventually closes his mouth and his attention is back to Jisung, deciding to ask him to avoid future misunderstanding. He opens his mouth to say something, but then the thought that he may cause damage to Jisung and Minho’s relationship worries him, briefly thinking about it. Jisung lets out a soft giggle, earning himself a confused look from the brunet.

“I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not what you think. Hyunjin and Minho are just friends.” Jisung giggles even louder when Seungmin’s jaw drops even lower. “We just like to call our hang out date. Weird, right?”

Seungmin closes his mouth and nods twice understandingly. “Not really? It’s just me overthinking, I guess. By the way, how do you know that’s what I thought? Is my expression obvious?” He smiles sheepishly, scratching his neck.

"Yeah, totally.” Jisung laughs joyfully. The sound of his bright laugh echoes throughout the room. “Not just you. It happened a lot of times so I figured you’d ask eventually.”

“Ah, I see.” Seungmin nods again. “So, when did you become friends?”

“High school!” Jisung eagerly replies. “10th grade with Minho and by the end of 11th grade with Hyunjin. We got closer in 12th grade. I never thought I would be best friends with Hyunjin.” 

He chortles at the memory of his high school, mouth growing into a wide grin all of sudden. “This is _TMI_ but Hyunjin and I used to be enemies in high school.”

Seungmin snorts at the thought of Jisung fighting with Hyunjin when Jisung is smaller in figure compared to Hyunjin, wondering if it was a physical fight or a verbal fight between the two of them. 

“Oh really? What happened?”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Hyunjin thinks it's a one-time thing, or a one-week thing because just like orientation week, he just needs to guide Seungmin until he's fully adapted with the schedules and the place, but somehow it's turning to something more.

Grabbing his backpack, Hyunjin takes a last look at his empty room, making sure he doesn’t leave anything important behind. Minho already leaves for his brunch with Jisung. Locking the door, he stands in front of room 1422 and knocks on the door. He hears a faint ‘ _wait for a second_ ’ before it’s wide opened, revealing a tired Seungmin. He seems to be in a daze and there are obvious slight dark shadows under his eyes.

“Did you sleep well last night?” Hyunjin asks, knitting his brows together, concerned about the brunet’s well-being, “No, let me rephrase, did you even sleep?”

Seungmin gives him a small smile and shakes his head, turning to close the door and lock it. “I can’t really sleep, but I’m fine.”

Hyunjin wants to argue more seeing how in a daze is Seungmin at that moment, but he decides to not say anything about it.

  
  
  
  


“Have you had breakfast?” Hyunjin asks while they are on their way to the class, walking side by side along the hallway. He reaches for his backpack and takes out a packet of bread. “Ah, maybe it’s a bit too late to ask about that. Do you want one?”

Seungmin chuckles and shakes his head. “I’m not hung—”

_Kruk._

The low grumble from his stomach just practically betrays everything he intends to say. Seungmin’s lips part open, not being able to finish his sentence as rosy color begins to spread from his neck up to his cheeks, _completely_ embarrassed. He isn’t supposed to be embarrassed because it’s normal and natural for the stomach to make such noises. Denying that he’s not hungry and his stomach grumbles at the same time isn’t something he can be proud of. He _really_ wants to bury himself seven feet under the ground right now.

Maybe Seungmin is just overreacting at this point.

Hyunjin giggles in amusement, hiding his open mouth with his hand. “Not hungry, huh?” he mocked playfully, handing the packet to Seungmin. “Take it. I have another one.”

Puffing up his cheeks, Seungmin sheepishly grabs the packet from Hyunjin’s hand, having his eyes glued to the floor, too embarrassed to look at Hyunjin in the eyes after what just happened. The heat on his face hasn’t subsided yet he feels his stomach churned. Seungmin stares at the bread for a good minute and smiles. It’s his favorite, red bean bread.

“Thanks."

The air fills with comfortable silence as they stroll beside each other. Their destination isn’t that far yet it seems like the time is slowing down for them. The only obvious sound produced is the rustling of Hyunjin’s bread packet, which he’s been eating for a while now. Only half of the bread is left to be eaten.

“Jisung told me about you and him being enemies in high school last night.” Seungmin breaks the silence, finally tearing open the bread packet and taking a bite. His brows arch upward in pleasure, finding the bread's taste is quite nice. Taking another bite, he munches it happily.

"He did?" 

Seungmin nods and Hyunjin chortles, internally cringing when he’s reminded of his behavior back in high school. 

"It was stupid. We were stupid at that age. Compared to now, Jisung was _really_ tiny back then, but his mouth was like a machine gun….he talked so much and super fast. I had no idea why we kept getting into the biggest argument ever every time we talked to each other. It was hilarious when I think about it."

"Maybe it was the raging teenage hormones," Seungmin says. 

"I bet. What was your high school life like?" Hyunjin asks in return, throwing the empty packet into the nearest trash bin he can find.

Seungmin shrugs, gulping down the food in his mouth before answering. “Boring. Nothing much. I was the kind of student who studied all the time. Not helping that I’m such a boring person, according to my high school friends.”

An brow arched upward, Hyunjin throws him an amused look. “Your high school friends are ridiculous. I don’t think you’re boring though. You’re interesting,” he tells him, _purposely_ leaning closer to Seungmin, and whispering, “and attractive if I may add.”

Seungmin is completely flattered and flustered by Hyunjin's remark, feeling funny in his chest. In his whole life, he's heard a fair few people telling him that he's attractive. But it feels different coming from Hyunjin. Instead of making his world spins, it makes his world stop for a brief moment. He decides that he likes it.

Hyunjin leans back and breaks into a sweet smile. 

Seungmin hears Hyunjin’s faint voice saying ‘ _it’s our class, come on_ ’ and watches him skipping into the classroom. Trying to bite back a growing smile on his face, Seungmin follows suit, heading toward Hyunjin who is waving at him from his seat in the middle.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Seungmin doesn't think Hyunjin would choose him. It just doesn't cross his mind. He thinks Hyunjin would want to work with someone else, given that Hyunjin is already well acquainted with his classmates, and he’s _totally_ fine with it, but Hyunjin does otherwise.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Scatter around and find a partner,” the professor instructs with a wave of his hands as soon after he finishes briefing his students about a group assignment. The lecture hall quickly becomes noisy with the sounds of students scrambling around to find themselves a partner.

Seungmin is considering asking Hyunjin if he wants to be his partner when he spots a girl walking up to their tables and she stops right in front of Hyunjin. Assuming the girl wants to ask Hyunjin to be her partner, Seungmin presses his lips into a thin line, letting the girl strike her chance. He surveys the hall around then, trying to find a possible partner among his new classmates.

“Um, Hyunjin.” 

Seungmin hears the girl speak. Her voice is tiny. He tries not to pay attention to it, none of his business anyway, and he doesn't want to, but he finds himself paying attention, to his dismay.

“Can I be your partner?” the girl shyly asks with a tinge of hope in her soft voice.

Heaving a quiet sigh, Seungmin slowly gets up (and tries to be proactive in finding a partner for himself), but he halts when he feels something gently grab his wrist, turning his head to see it’s Hyunjin’s hand. He briefly glances at it and then looks up at the guy, arching his brows upward and staring at him blankly.

Then, Seungmin hears Hyunjin say, “I’m sorry, Wendy. I promise to partner up with Seungmin.”

For no reason at all, Seungmin’s skin where Hyunjin touches tingles. The slight heavy feeling in his chest disappears immediately.

Seungmin slowly plops himself down on the chair, back to staring at his wrist getting held in between Hyunjin’s slender fingers. He doesn’t bother to shake them off. Even when the girl has left, he’s still staring, until Hyunjin loosens his grip and pulls away. The warmth on his skin fades straight away, leaving it cold.

Seungmin shifts his attention and locks eyes with Hyunjin's dark brown eyes, brows knit together slightly in confusion. “Why did you say that? I mean, I don’t remember making a promise with you?”

The last sentence sounds more like a question than he intended, and maybe a tiny wee bit defensive. He doesn’t mean to come off that way.

“What? You don’t want me to be your partner?” Hyunjin whines sullenly, lips naturally forming a sulky pout, to which Seungmin finds endearing and hard to look away from. 

“N-No, that’s not….what I meant,” Seungmin stutters, frantically waving his hands. A chuckle escapes Hyunjin’s mouth, finding Seungmin amusing. “What if I’m not a good partner?”

A bright smile grows on Hyunjin’s face. “That, we’ll find out.”

  
  
  
  


"So, happiness is the theme, huh?" Seungmin mutters nonchalantly as they're strolling along the hallway, heading to their next class, to which Hyunjin mentions (and repeatedly whines) about how the building is a little far from where they are at right now. In all honesty, Seungmin doesn’t mind walking. "If Professor Lim wants us to submit the photo individually, why did he bother telling us to find a partner in the first place? There's only one theme anyway."

Hyunjin seems to be in his world for a bit before giving him a tiny shrug. 

"Professor Lim is a bit unique in my opinion. Most photographers work alone, most if not all, so he's probably trying to teach us the way to work together. And maybe it's just for the sake of human interactions, for discussion or something, or," he pauses, throwing a sideways glance to Seungmin as he continues, "...he wants to see our teamwork and concept, I guess. Our concepts might not be the same, but working together will sometimes result in a similar essence. I think that’s his point.”

“Sound valid enough.” Seungmin nods his head understandingly. “Where do you think we should go to _catch_ this happiness? I think college isn’t the place we should ever look at. It’s a bit depressing and full of stressed students so I don’t think we can find any happiness here.”

Hyunjin bursts into soft high-pitched giggles hearing Seungmin’s statement, especially when the latter says it in a deadpan tone with an unamused expression, making it even funnier. Seungmin only turns his head to stare at him weirdly, not knowing what’s so funny about it before shaking his head. It takes a while for Hyunjin to tone down his giggles and calm himself down.

“I agree about a college being a depressing place but if you try to look long enough, there is happiness in them. There might not be much, but it exists. Happiness doesn’t have to be as large as a cruise ship, or as loud as fireworks, or as fancy as chandelier light. Simple small happiness should be sufficient, like treating oneself an ice cream after pulling all-nighters to finish tons of assignments or like sipping one’s favorite chocolate drink after a tiring day. It all depends on how one perceives happiness.”

“Oh, that’s one impressive speech,” Seungmin comments in awe, giving Hyunjin a slow clap. “And you’re right. We just have to find it.”

A sheepish smile grows on Hyunjin’s face as warmth begins to crawl up his neck to the tips of his ears, feeling a tad wee bit sheepish hearing Seungmin’s compliment as his hand automatically reaches up to the nape of his neck, rubbing it lightly in an attempt to ease up the embarrassment he’s feeling.

“That’s right. By the way, I have a place in mind for our shoot.”

  
  
  
  


“I’m home, buddy!” Jisung announces loudly and casually barges in through the door, halting his step midway when his eyes catch the sight of Seungmin in the midst of dressing himself up. Jisung’s mouth quirks upward on one side, flashing him a sly smirk as he closes the door behind him, slowly shuffling to his bed.

“Well, well, well, look who’s dressing up right here. On Friday night on top of that,” Jisung says with a teasing grin on his face, wiggling his brows. He lands himself sideways on the bed and faces Seungmin’s direction. The latter is standing in front of his wardrobe, contemplating on which jacket he should wear. “Are you going on a date?”

“What? No,” Seungmin replies, sounding a little wee bit defensive for some reason. He furrows his brows and shakes his head, thinking Jisung’s question is totally absurd. “We’re going to a festival in town for an assignment.”

“ _For an assignment_ ,” Jisung mocks playfully and clicks his tongue. He shrugs his shoulders, eyes ogling at Seungmin who’s wearing a hoodie-like navy denim jacket beneath a white tee. “Still sounds like a date to me. That jacket looks good on you.”

“Look who’s wearing it.” Seungmin holds onto his jacket and swirls around, showing it off to Jisung which earns him a hearty giggle from the latter. A few knocks are heard a moment later, getting the attention of both of them. 

“Your date is here,” Jisung singsongs excitedly, feeling his cheeks are going to burst because he can’t get his biggest grin off his face. Seungmin grumbles in dismay, hands grabbing his camera bag and his phone. “Who’s driving? Him or you?”

“Why is that relevant?” Seungmin doesn’t want to, but he asks anyway, to Jisung’s amusement, making his way to the door and grabbing the knob.

“Well, if you’re driving, you’re the—”

Before Jisung can finish his sentence, Seungmin already storms out of the room and slams the door shut loudly. A few seconds later, hearty giggles fill the room, for whatever reason it is.

  
  
  
  


"So, how far is this festival?" Seungmin asks, having his eyes on the road as he carefully steers the wheel and makes a left turn, entering the main road.

"It'll take us about fifteen minutes," Hyunjin replies, reaching up for the radio and turning it up. A pop song quickly blasts throughout the car.

"How do I know if we reach the place?"

A smile grows on Hyunjin's face, though Seungmin doesn't see it. "You'll know when you see it."

Seungmin knows when he sees it, _indeed_. The festival can be easily spotted with naked eyes even from a distance, illuminated by bright various colors of lights along the road, glowing up the night sky prettily.

Seungmin’s mouth gapes open and his body freezes at the spot he’s standing at, his eyes grow wide, slowly darting around the lively festival, completely mesmerized by the dazzling sight in front of him. Standing by his side, Hyunjin’s lips can’t help but curl into a proud smile watching Seungmin’s genuine reaction to his hometown’s festival.

“Let me introduce you to our biggest and most exciting festival of the year, The Light Fest. This festival is a traveling lantern festival where you write down your wishes and dreams on lanterns and then release them into the night sky. It’s a symbolic way of communicating with the universe. It’s been part of our culture here since the 1700s if I’m not mistaken. As time passes, this festival begins to develop into a much bigger scale along with technological advance, so here we are, surrounded by thousands of LED lights of various colors.”

After Hyunjin finishes explaining, he steals a glance at Seungmin and a smile automatically makes its way to his face when he sees the brunet is still having the fascinated expression on his face and admiring the astonishing view of the festival. There are blue, green, red, yellow and a few more colors of the lights brightly decorating along the narrow and long streets until the end of it.

Seungmin breathes out a content sigh, smiling delightfully. "Beautiful," he says, voice sounding almost like a whisper. Hyunjin's smile only grows into a bright grin when he hears that, feeling his heart bloom in satisfaction. He nudges Seungmin with his shoulder lightly, attempting to snap him up from a daze.

"This isn't the best part yet. Let's go."

  
  
  
  


There are so many people at the festival, which makes sense because it's the night of the weekend where people are high-likely to go out and enjoy themselves after a full weekday, and Seungmin doesn't fancy being in the crowd. Holding tight his camera bag's strap with one hand and making sure it's safe, Seungmin tries his best to walk through the crowd of excited people, silently following Hyunjin from behind to wherever he's leading him to. 

His body tenses up every time he's squeezed between people. He doesn't like this, but they're already there and he's in no way wanting to make Hyunjin uncomfortable for bringing him there. Seungmin likes the festival and the mood, it's just the crowds putting him off. 

Seungmin is distracted for a moment when his eyes catch the sight of pretty light blue light decorated around a shady tree —his favorite color is blue— and when he turns his attention back to the front, Hyunjin is nowhere to be found. Quickly he stops his track and begins to call out Hyunjin's name repeatedly. Seungmin contemplates for a moment between continuing his pace or staying there. 

Hyunjin would somehow realize that he's not following and try to find him, _right_? 

A surge of panic suddenly rises in his stomach, flipping his inside upside down at the thought of being lost in the place that still feels foreign to him. Noises from his surroundings gradually become louder in his ears as his eyes dart around frantically. His heart is ramming blaringly in his ribcage.

"Seungmin! Look at me."

A familiar voice echoes in Seungmin's ears and his name is repeated a few times before his frantic eyes manage to meet a pair of dark brown eyes.

"Good. Now, just focus on me."

Seungmin stares into Hyunjin's eyes, not leaving even for a second. Despite the situation, he can see that Hyunjin's eyes are soft, yet fierce. After a while, the surrounding noises start to quiet down, and eventually, he finds himself calming down. He feels heavy on his shoulders, and he realizes that Hyunjin's pair of hands are on him.

"You okay, now?" Hyunjin asks with a hint of concern in his voice, furrowing his brows worriedly.

Seungmin gives him a slow nod and he sees Hyunjin heaves a sigh of relief. What comes next is completely unexpected, and catches Seungmin off guard.

Hyunjin pulls Seungmin into his embrace and Seungmin's eyes grow wide.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry. I'm never leaving you again."

Seungmin is shocked, his body tenses up by the sudden action, but he feels warm. A mix of lemon and rose scents hit Seungmin's sense of smell immediately when he inhales, making his body gradually relax. Seungmin's brain has already ingrained the scents as Hyunjin's by now. If he were to walk by someone with the scents, he would think of Hyunjin first. Hyunjin has a nice scent after all. He feels Hyunjin's hand make its way from his back to his hair and lightly brushes it before Hyunjin leans back, gazing at him apologetically.

Hyunjin holds out his hand then as if offering it and Seungmin glances down at it in confusion before locking eyes with Hyunjin again.

"Take my hand. We'll get through the crowds together, and trust me, I'm not going to let go."

Seungmin's heart perhaps skips a beat or two at that. When warmth begins to crawl up his neck, he takes Hyunjin's hand in his and the latter holds on firmly, pulling him along to pass through the sea of people.

  
  
  
  


"It's a lot fewer people here, so I think we'll be fine."

Hyunjin has brought Seungmin to the end of the streets. There, located a field with a lake where the people there aren't as crowded as the place they were at earlier, in which Hyunjin has mentioned about it being the best part of the festival, and he has to admit that Hyunjin is right. It's his hometown's festival after all.

When Seungmin cranes his head up, his eyes catch the sight of floating orange lights in the night sky, flying up slowly, and once again, he's mesmerized. The floating lights almost seem like the stars making their way up to the sky, and Seungmin thinks he likes it. A fond smile graces his face, eyes not leaving the pretty view.

"We've got to start. You can let go now," Hyunjin says.

Seungmin turns his head to Hyunjin after hearing his words. "What?" he asks, blinking his eyes a few times, not entirely sure what the latter meant. Safe to say he's kind of lost at this moment.

"My hand." Hyunjin gestures it with his eyes. "I'd love to hold your hand for the rest of the night, but I kind of need it to take photos."

Right at that moment, Seungmin remembers that they actually _have_ an assignment to do, and, "Oh," is all he utters when he realizes that he's still holding tight to Hyunjin's hand. Seungmin quickly loosens his grip and pulls his hand away, his face dusted with light pink in embarrassment that goes unnoticed.

Hyunjin chuckles in amusement, taking out his camera. "Do you want to split up or stick together?" he carefully asks, thinking about what happened earlier. "I'm fine with either."

For a split second, Hyunjin seems hesitant when he asks out the question as if he doesn't want to leave Seungmin by himself, but he opts to give him choices anyway, and Seungmin needs to reassure Hyunjin that he's fine.

"Let's split up," Seungmin replies, giving him a small smile.

"You sure?" Hyunjin asks with a tiny hint of worry in his voice, and that makes Seungmin's heart warm.

Seungmin nods confidently and reasons, "We can get our job done faster."

"Okay then. Let's meet here in an hour. Remember this tree," Hyunjin tells Seungmin, pointing to a heart-shaped tree with purple lights around it behind them. "If you somehow get lost or something. Just stay right where you are, I'll find you."

  
  
  
  


Seungmin picks up his camera and starts moving freely around the field, capturing as many photos as he’d like while enjoying the view above him. He simply can’t take his eyes off the beautiful scenery of the night sky, prettily decorated by hundreds of the floating lanterns. He never fails to feel entranced by it. It’s just beautiful.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Seungmin nearly jumps when he hears the familiar voice whispering, feeling ticklish in his left ear, hands holding tight to his camera on instinct. A soft melodic giggle is heard then from behind. Swiftly turning his body, he sees Hyunjin standing with a stupid grin on his face with his camera in his arms, making his lips grow into the same stupid grin. 

“I thought we’re meeting again at the tree?” Seungmin asks, giving him a questioning look, arching his brows upward.

“It seems like you lost track of the time.”

“Oh!” Seungmin’s eyes grow slightly wide, quickly taking out his phone and checking the time. It’s been an hour and a half. He indeed loses track of the time, looking up from his phone and muttering words of apology, “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it. Did you wait long?” he asks, lips naturally forming a pout, feeling bad for making Hyunjin wait for him.

Hyunjin chuckles and shakes his head. “No, I figured you weren’t coming ten minutes later so I just walked around and found you.”

Seungmin only gives him a sheepish smile, lightly stroking his back hair to ease up the embarrassment. Both of them spend some more time taking photographs and leisurely strolling around the field before they settle down somewhere on the ground. They sit comfortably side by side and face the sight in which people are releasing the lanterns to the sky.

“Do you like it here?” Hyunjin asks, breaking the comfortable silence between them. “I mean, this place. It must be hard to adapt to a new place.”

Seungmin’s lips curl into a small smile as he gives him a nod, eyes fixating to the sight in front of him instead of turning to Hyunjin. “Yeah, it’s lovely, though it’s a little _quiet_ right here.”

That makes Hyunjin turn his head to Seungmin and stare at him in curiosity, wondering what he means. “What do you mean?”

"I lived in a city, a very busy city where there’s almost no silence, at all, throughout the day. I was born there, so I don’t find all those noises unpleasant or distracting at all. If anything, it calms me, knowing the outside world is pretty much alive. It helps me in some ways, but this place is just quiet, more serene than I thought, so there's that. You know, when I first moved here, it was hard to even fall asleep because it’s really quiet. Could say my usual _therapy_ was gone and I had a hard time adjusting.”

Hyunjin chuckles when he remembers the time Seungmin had visible dark circles under his eyes and became a panda for a bit. "Is that the reason why you didn't sleep much the first two weeks being here?"

Seungmin breaks into a smile and nods. "Yeah, that's right. I could barely fall asleep."

Slowly but steadily, they fall into conversation, talking about random things, from favorite food to their passion to their hobbies, immersing themselves in their own bubble of a world.

  
  
  
  


“Come on,” Hyunjin mutters, standing after putting his camera back into the bag, dusting his clothes, and then proceeds to take a hold of Seungmin’s hand into his, as if it’s the most natural thing to do. “Let’s get something to eat, then we’ll head back to the dorm.”

Seungmin is surprised by Hyunjin’s advance, but he doesn’t pull away, he stares at their hands instead, realizing that their hands fit almost perfectly, and it feels nice and warm. There’s a funny feeling in his stomach. The back of his mind telling him not to let go, and he really doesn’t want to.

“You don’t have to hold my hand, you know. It’s not that crowded anymore,” Seungmin tells him, lifting his head, meeting Hyunjin’s eyes. Hyunjin's next words make his heart warm.

Hyunjin flashes a radiant smile. “I know, but I want to, and I’m not going to lose you again.”


	3. Work-In-Progress

It becomes routine. _They_ become routine. Sharing most of the classes together allows them to be together almost all the time, and spending most of their time together. They go to classes together, have lunch together, and they even choose to be in the same assignment group. Over time, they grow close and closer.

It's Wednesday evening by the time Hyunjin finishes with his dance class (he's minoring in Practical Dance), five minutes to five o'clock. The first thing he does once he's out of the dance studio is checking his text messages. His eyes immediately light up seeing a familiar name sending him a bunch of texts, a delighted smile automatically grows on his face.

**From: Seungminnie**

_[3:10pm]_ Where are you?

 _[3:30pm]_ Hyunjin?

 _[3:35pm]_ Never mind I forgot you have class

 _[3:50pm]_ Text me when you’re done.

 _[3.51pm]_ No. Call me.

Wondering what it is about, Hyunjin presses the call immediately and waits for Seungmin to pick it up, but it continues to ring until it reaches voicemail. He’s wondering if Seungmin is busy doing something, he tries again.

_“Hello.”_ Hyunjin hears a croak and slurred voice from the other line when his call is answered. _“Who’s this?”_

Hyunjin knits his brows together, confused by the question and the voice until it all dawns to him a moment later. He chuckles softly, lips pulling into a grin. “Seungmin? It’s Hyunjin. Were you sleeping?”

_“Uh, hi Hyunjin.”_ He hears a sigh and a few unrecognizable sounds. _“Yeah, I took a nap.”_

“Where are you?”

There’s a long pause before he hears Seungmin’s voice again. _“Library.”_

Hanging up the call, Hyunjin wastes no time and makes his way to the library. Once Hyunjin spots Seungmin at a table at the far back of the library, Hyunjin breaks into a fond smile, and he quickly strolls over to the table in a slow step. He plops down on the seat in front of Seungmin, who has his head resting on his stretched arm with eyes shut among the scattered books on the table, still sleeping so soundly. His lips curl into the soft smile at the sight, wanting to coo at how soft, cute, and peaceful Seungmin looks while he’s asleep.

Hyunjin flickers his eyes to Seungmin’s delicate and slender fingers, bringing his own fingers forward and gently tapping Seungmin’s one by one slowly as if he’s playing a mini piano. He holds Seungmin’s pinky between the tips of his fingers, tenderly caressing it with his thumb. After that, he wraps all of Seungmin's fingers in his hand and gives it a light squeeze.

Hyunjin does that all the time whenever Seungmin’s asleep. 

Rising from the chair he’s sitting, Hyunjin goes to sit next to Seungmin, stretching his one arm on the table and laying his head on it, facing Seungmin. A soft grin makes his way to Hyunjin’s face as he gazes at the way Seungmin’s brunet hair falls into his eyes. His hand is itching to tuck them away but instead, he pokes at Seungmin’s cheeks twice, instantly waking up the guy.

Flickering open his eyes at the touch, the first thing Seungmin sees is a widely grinning Hyunjin right before his eyes. He breaks into a lazy smile, blinking his eyes sleepily. He sits up straight and does a light stretching to ease the slight ache that he feels in his muscles, and Hyunjin follows suit, putting an elbow on the table and leaning against it, looking at Seungmin’s direction.

“How long have you been napping?” Hyunjin asks, eyes following every move Seungmin makes.

“An hour, I think?” Seungmin begins to pack up his things, neatly stacking the books on the table. “I need your help, by the way.”

Hyunjin arches his brows upward. It’s safe to say he’s interested in whatever Seungmin is about to ask his help for, instinctively leaning closer to the brunet. “I'm listening.”

Seungmin stops whatever he’s doing and turns to Hyunjin with an obvious worrying expression on his face as if it’s about a problem that has no solution. He takes a deep breath and slowly breathes out.

“Okay. I really don’t want to join it but it’s compulsory for everyone who takes Performing Arts, which includes me obviously so I have no choice,” Seungmin pauses and lets out a dejected sigh, closing his eyes and thinking about his unfortunate fate. Opening his eyes, he continues dreadfully, “We’ll be having a musical play by the end of this semester and the audition is next week.”

Seungmin looks at Hyunjin in the eyes and gives him a dreadful yet pleading gaze. “So, can you help me with the scripts?”

And, that’s how they end up in the middle of a green field not far from their college building, plopping themselves down on the dry grass, illuminated by the soft _orangeish_ sunlight that is about to set in less than an hour.

"So, what's the play? What is it about?" Hyunjin asks.

"Romeo and Juliet."

"Classic cliché." Hyunjin scoffs and rolls his eyes in amusement at the choice of the musical, earning a quiet glare from the brunet, to which he lets out a nervous laugh then, stroking his back hair. "With all due respect, I don't like Romeo and Juliet."

Seungmin's brows knit together, having a questioning look on his face, holding his chin between the tips of his fingers. "Enlighten me why you don't like it?"

"You know how the actual story of Romeo and Juliet went, right? Their romance happened in four to six days! It ended with a tragedy on top of that. So, I personally think it's a tad bit ridiculous."

"So you think it's ridiculous to fall deeply in love within a short time."

"No, not fall in love, but to be in love. There are differences between the two. To fall in love might only take five seconds, to be in love takes time. Were Romeo and Juliet really in love, or was it just their hasty desires to be together?"

"Now that you mentioned it, I'm starting to get why you don't like it," Seungmin comments, nodding understandingly. “I, on the other hand, like classic cliché. It’s quite fun in all honesty.”

"Oh. That's cool." Hyunjin smiles and claps his hands once. "Okay. Which role are you auditioning?"

Apparently, Seungmin will be auditioning for Juliet's cousin, Tybalt. When Hyunjin asks why he doesn't go for the main character, Romeo, Seungmin simply says that he doesn't like to be the center of attention so he opts for a minor role.

"I don't think you suit playing Tybalt though?" Hyunjin voices out all of sudden, eyeing the brunet from top to toe while having his arms crossed over his chest as if analyzing whether the role suits him, or not.

Seungmin places his hands on the hips, wanting to protest. His lips almost turn into a sulky pout. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Hyunjin pauses, looking at him up and down. "Look at you. Innocent eyes. Dumpling cheeks. Adorable serious expression. I don’t think the audience would take you seriously even if you make an angry face. You're too cute for a villain role."

Seungmin freezes, blinking his eyes a few times, staring at the guy in half disbelief of what he just heard. There’s a silence before he finally finds his voice. "...what?"

"I said, you're too cute. You’ve always been cute."

"Uh, thanks.” Warmth begins to crawl up from his neck and spread all over his face as he sheepishly replies, “You're cute too…" 

His voice is faint, but Hyunjin knows he hears it. " _Oh_." A shy smile quickly makes its way to his face, and silence falls upon them after that. They exchange a few sheepish glances and smiles, until Hyunjin's phone rings.

"Hello, Minho…oh right! Oh God, I forgot. Sorry…oh yes I'm with Seungmin…shut up… wait—" Hyunjin puts his phone slightly aside and shifts his attention to Seungmin. "Seungmin, Jisung got his pay today so he wants to buy us dinner. Are you in?"

Seungmin blinks his eyes a few times before the question finally registers in his brain. Showing his toothy grin, he eagerly nods and agrees. Besides, who doesn’t want a free dinner? Definitely not him.

"We're in... okay, meet you later."

  
  
  
  
  
  


The first time Seungmin witnesses Hyunjin’s major breakdown is when they’re having midterms. Hyunjin is generally a bright person with an optimistic mindset. Even when something has made him down, it doesn’t last that long and goes down that deep because he would often try to overcome his weakness and go about his day. But not on this particular night.

Seungmin is taking photographs for his individual assignment somewhere on the campus when a phone call comes in. It’s Minho. He frowns and wonders why would Minho call him because rarely the older guy contacts him personally. They initially exchanged numbers only because Hyunjin asked them to. Seungmin picks up the call.

“Hey, Minho. What’s up?” he greets politely.

"Kim Seungmin. Where are you?" Minho's voice on the other line sounds tired and irritated, which he's sure not directed at him. Seungmin wonders why.

“Uh, in the campus’s garden. Why?”

“You know where the dance studio is, right? Come here quickly!” Minho urges before ending the call, leaving Seungmin in complete confusion. 

Pondering for a minute what it is about, he packs his stuff and makes his way to the said place. It's almost dark when Seungmin reaches the dance studio, finding a figure standing by the door, seemingly like watching someone inside closely through the door. He watches the person ruffling their hair roughly, as if frustrated.

"Minho?" Seungmin hesitantly calls out as he slows down his steps, approaching closer. Minho swiftly turns to face Seungmin at the call, facial expression displaying nothing but a mix of anger and worry. His fiery eyes soften at the sight of Seungmin. His hardened expression disappears and is replaced with a small exhausted smile.

"Oh, Seungmin, you're here." Minho's voice sounds really tired compared to when he was on the phone earlier.

"Did something happen?" Seungmin asks, concerned with the older guy's wellbeing.

Minho lets out an exasperated heavy sigh, gesturing to the inside, in which Seungmin then peeks through and his eyes catch a familiar figure dancing in the middle of the studio. It’s Hyunjin.

_"Hyunjin hasn't stopped practicing since this morning. I tried to stop him, but he just won't listen. Too stubborn. He's going to overwork himself at this rate. He thinks he's going to fail the performance assessment if he doesn't practice as hard. Can you please talk to him and try getting him to stop?"_

Minho’s words, before leaving, echo in Seungmin’s ears as he quietly stands at the door and peeks through the narrow transparent opening, watching Hyunjin, who’s been dancing passionately without a single rest. Even from outside, he can hear the song blasting through the studio. Seungmin has agreed to Minho’s request, but he made a point that it doesn’t guarantee it’s going to work. Minho chuckled, patted his shoulder, and said something that left him speechless and _flattered_.

_"If it's you, it will work."_

Maybe it would work, maybe it won’t. Seungmin doesn’t really know what kind of hint Minho is trying to deliver, but he kind of gets the idea of it, though he doesn’t want to assume further. He knows he at least has to try. Fixating his eyes on the dancing figure, he patiently waits until the end of the song, so that he won’t have to interrupt Hyunjin despite knowing the guy is probably overworking himself. He just doesn’t have the heart to let Hyunjin’s current practice go in vain.

Seungmin is completely mesmerized by Hyunjin’s beautiful dancing, finding no flaw in his movement other than the obvious lack of energy the guy holds, and Seungmin can tell even from his non-dancer perspective, let alone a more experienced dancer like Minho. Hyunjin is definitely in need of a good rest. Right when the song ends, Seungmin pushes open the door, quickly alerting his presence to the other guy. He stands there at the half-open door and raises a hand, waving in tiny movement with a toothy grin on his face. 

"Hi, Hyunjin."

Upon his greeting, Hyunjin makes a swift turn and his eyes go wide comically at the sight of Seungmin, face visibly brightening. In a breathy voice, he asks, "Seungmin? Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" Seungmin asks, hoping that Hyunjin would let him in.

"Of course," Hyunjin replies eagerly, sounding out of breath. He gives Seungmin a smile as he pushes his wet and messy long hair falling on his face to the back. "You can sit there," he adds, the other hand pointing to the back of the studio. “It’s much cleaner there.”

With a nod of understanding, Seungmin lets the door close and slowly strolls over to the area Hyunjin pointed, eyes darting around the studio as it’s his first time being there. The studio is huge and dim, with only two lights on, one on the right side while another on the left side. Seungmin can see the reflection of himself on the mirrors in front of him and his right side. Halting right in the middle, he plops down on the floor, leaning his back on the wall and making himself comfortable.

Hyunjin walks over to the stereo and shuts the music off before making his way to where Seungmin is sitting, plopping himself down quite a distance from the guy, earning himself a cute sulky pout from the brunet.

“What?” Hyunjin asks. Confusion is evident on his face as his hands are busily wiping his running sweats off his face and neck. The sweats don’t seem to stop though he’s been wiping it for a while now. Seungmin blinks and doesn’t say anything. He pats the space next to him, indirectly telling him to sit there instead. His lips are still pouting.

Brows arching upward, Hyunjin hesitantly asks, “Are you sure? I’m sweating and I might be really smelly right now.”

Seungmin makes no attempt to talk as he continues to pout and gaze at him with some kind of puppy eyes. Hyunjin chuckles and finally admits defeat, shaking his head in amusement as he scoots closer to the brunet, settling by his side, shoulders slightly brushing.

“So,” Hyunjin drawls, leaning his head against the wall, still dabbing the trickling sweats off from his face. “What brings you here?”

“Just to see how you are doing. I heard from Minho that you haven’t stopped practicing since this morning,” Seungmin says, voice coated with concern and worry. 

“Oh, that guy,” Hyunjin mutters lazily, closing his eyes and heaving a tired sigh. He lets his arms fall on his side along with the damp towel in his grip. “Are you here to stop me then?”

Seungmin remains quiet as he rummages through his backpack, filling the air between them with a rustling sound. He takes out a cold water bottle and a few other things from the backpack, scattering them around on the floor.

“Seungmin?” Hyunjin still has his eyes closed, breathing quietly.

“No,” the brunet answers, making Hyunjin open his eyes and straighten up his body, looking at him with a pair of curious eyes. Seungmin’s lips curl into a soft smile, holding out the water bottle in front of the raven-haired guy. “I came here to feed you. Minho told me you haven’t eaten anything after breakfast this morning. I'm afraid you’re going to get sick by the time you have your assessment. I don't want you to be sick.”

When Hyunjin doesn’t do anything else other than blankly staring at him, Seungmin continues, showing each of the nicely wrapped items on the floor as he speaks, “I bought you some sandwiches. There are beef, chicken, and eggs. Oh, and also cheese! Since I don’t know what you prefer, so I just bought them all.” A sheepish giggle escapes Seungmin’s mouth, fingers scratching the back of his neck. “Maybe I bought too many.”

“No, these are enough. I eat a lot just so you know,” Hyunjin manages to find his voice again after a while, eyes still fixating at the brunet. Seungmin feels like Hyunjin is boring a hole through him with his gaze, feeling the warmth spread through his cheeks unknowingly. Taking one of the sandwiches, he throws right at Hyunjin, causing the guy to catch it clumsily with his hands. Seungmin chuckles and shakes his head in amusement.

“Stop staring at me and eat,” Seungmin mutters, mumbling a few unintelligible words under his breath after that. He takes out his phone when Hyunjin _finally_ tears his gaze away from him, checking for any important text message while Hyunjin eats. The studio falls quiet and is only accompanied by the sound of unwrapping plastic. Soon the sound stops and again, silence falls.

"Seungmin." He hears Hyunjin call his name and he hums in response, not looking up from reading a mail from their professor, which is probably sent while he was at the campus' garden earlier. "Are you lactose intolerant?"

The question has Seungmin looked up from his phone and shifted his attention to the raven-haired guy, blinking at him with a slight head tilt in confusion. "No. Why?"

"Open your mouth," Hyunjin demands. Still half confused, Seungmin obeys, opening his mouth a little bit and after that, Hyunjin fills his mouth with the sandwich he unwraps just now. It's a cheese sandwich, Seungmin realizes after he munches it a bit. "Because I am lactose intolerant, so eat that up. I'd prefer to eat the chicken sandwich anyway."

Seungmin notes two things in his mind that day; one, Hyunjin is lactose intolerant and two, he prefers chicken sandwiches.

  
  
  
  


By the time Seungmin puts down his phone, Hyunjin just finishes devouring the sandwiches; chicken and beef, gulping down the last bit of water in the bottle. Hyunjin seals the bottle and puts it aside, wiping dry the remaining water on his lips with the back of his hand. Seungmin watches Hyunjin stretch out his legs and leans his back and head against the wall and he follows suit. Eyes looking at the reflection of them in the mirror, Seungmin lets his gaze fall at the guy sitting next to him, biting back a smile when he notices Hyunjin’s head slowly leaning close to his shoulder.

“Hey Seungmin, thank you for the food.” 

Seungmin smiles when he feels a weight on his shoulder. Hyunjin is resting his head, and then he scoots closer so that their shoulders meet, their thighs align with each other. The warmth radiated through Hyunjin’s head makes him comfortable.

Seungmin lets out a soft melodic laugh, blush is spreading through his cheeks. He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, embarrassed for some reason. 

“It’s nothing, really.”

Seungmin holds Hyunjin's gaze when their eyes meet in the mirror, gracing a soft smile on his face, making Hyunjin can't help but break into a huge smile too. It makes his heart warm at the sight. 

“It’s everything to me." It's a whisper and it's faint, but Seungmin knows he heard it right. “I have to go back to practicing in five minutes," Hyunjin announces, wearing a dreadful expression.

“When is your performance assessment?”

Fixating his gaze at Hyunjin in the mirror, Seungmin watches the guy yawn and briefly covers his mouth with his hand. He notices Hyunjin’s droopy eyes are dropping lower and lower as the second ticks by. Slowly and gradually, his eyes shut close and Seungmin’s lips stretch into a smile.

“Uh? Ah. On Monday,” Hyunjin mumbles his reply, eyes remain shut. He shifts in his seat, trying to get more comfortable.

"That's tomorrow. Shouldn’t you get more rest?” Seungmin speaks in a soft voice, absolutely worried for him. His gaze remains at peacefully resting Hyunjin, not leaving even for a second. His long hair covers half of Hyunjin’s face and Seungmin’s hands are itching to brush them away.

“I can’t. I need to practice more. It’s not enough.” Hyunjin’s voice is low and Seungmin just knows that he’s on the brink of sleepiness. Humming softly to a melody, he reaches his hand up and brushes away the hair strands, lightly stroking Hyunjin’s raven hair after that.

And just like that, Hyunjin falls asleep, snoring ever so softly with a little smile at the corner of his lips.

Seungmin is scrolling through his phone when Hyunjin moves in his sleep. Putting his phone away, he lets his gaze fall at the guy who is now laying his head on his laps. An hour after Hyunjin falls asleep, Seungmin has moved him down to the floor after watching him shift around uncomfortably. Hyunjin indeed seems more comfortable. He continues to gaze at him until Hyunjin’s eyes flutter open, flashing him a dazzling smile.

“Hi,” Seungmin greets in a soft voice, smile not leaving his bright face. “Did you nap well?”

His inside is all warm and fuzzy when Hyunjin returns his smile. “Hi. How long did I nap?”

“Two hours.”

A sigh escapes Hyunjin’s mouth as he closes his eyes again, slightly scrunching his face. “I’m still sleepy.”

“Go back to sleep then,” Seungmin suggests with a smile on his face, hand reaching for Hyunjin’s hair strands and touching softly between the tips of his fingers. Hyunjin’s hair feels soft and smooth. “Or we can go back to the dorm and you can sleep more comfortably.”

Hyunjin’s high-tone laugh echoes in his ears, eyes crinkling into half-moon shapes. Seungmin likes the sound of Hyunjin’s laugh. It’s therapeutic for some reason. “So, in the end, you tried to stop me.”

Seungmin smiles, shrugging his shoulders. “Worth a try.” He takes a moment to study Hyunjin’s face. Hyunjin’s eyes are slightly bloodshot. There are visible dark shadows under his eyes. His entire face is haggard. 

Tired is an understatement, Hyunjin is _exhausted_ and probably _dehydrated_ as well. Seungmin’s expression changes after that, brows knitting together. 

_Worried_.

“But Hyunjin, I think you need a rest. You’re exhausted.”

“Don’t be silly. I’m fine.” Hyunjin chuckles, waving a hand. His voice is a little strained and heavy. He stares straight at the ceiling, letting out a quiet sigh and Seungmin doesn’t take his eyes off Hyunjin. He watches his barely smiling face morph into a worried expression. “It’s just...I can’t afford to fail this class.” 

That’s a given. Nobody wants to fail any class. Seungmin has had a fair share of failing one or two subjects in high school and he despised the feeling of it, even though he thought he was just an average student who tried really hard to maintain his grades. He remembers the long hours of him cooped up in the bathroom, crying his heart out under the shower after failing Advanced Math for the first time. So he understands what Hyunjin might feel.

“I failed last semester and I don’t want to fail again. That’s why I need to practice more. I need to perfect my choreography and show that I’m not a failure. Like they all said,” Hyunjin whispers the last sentence. It’s barely audible as if he doesn’t want Seungmin to hear it, but his ears manage to catch it. 

His heart sinks at that. Nobody deserves to be called a failure, especially not someone as hardworking and diligent as Hyunjin. Some people are just mean for no reason at all and it's horrible.

A few seconds later, Seungmin notices Hyunjin’s eyes are glassy, gradually welling up in tears. When their gaze meets for a brief second, Hyunjin’s eyes widen in panic before he immediately sits up, having his back facing Seungmin. Hyunjin must have noticed his change of expression. He chuckles, sounding as if something is stuck in his throat, trying to dismiss the words he said, but Seungmin speaks first.

“You’re not a failure, Hyunjin. You’re a work-in-progress. Tonight is the first time I saw you dancing and it’s truly dazzling and amazing. I was entranced by the way you danced to the music, the little details of your choreography, how your body moved languidly like flowing water, the changes in your expressions. I couldn't take my eyes off you, Hyunjin.

“You being in your dancing trance draw me in and make me want to watch you more and more. It's hard but never let anyone tell you how much you're worth. There will always be someone who can't see your worth and that's them. You're worth so much more than that, you're so much more than that. Don't ever doubt your worth, Hyunjin. Remember, you're a work-in-progress, because there's no end result in life, just a various sets of after-improvement products."

Seungmin’s gaze remains fixated at the back of Hyunjin’s head as he finishes talking, hoping that his words would somehow comfort Hyunjin. A little if not a lot. It doesn’t take long for Hyunjin to finally turn his back to face him, raising his head only to be met with a sight of his tears running down his cheeks. Hyunjin doesn’t even bother to wipe his tears away. 

Seungmin’s heart sinks even more. His lips curl into a small apologetic smile as he scoots closer to him, opening his arms wide. “Oh, Hyunjin,” is all he said before engulfing Hyunjin in his warm embrace. Seungmin rubs Hyunjin’s back slowly and softly in a circle to comfort him. Hyunjin buries his face into Seungmin’s shoulder, fingers lightly tugging to the fabric of the brunet’s shirt as he continues to cry his heart out, and without another word, Seungmin lets him.

In the end, Seungmin isn’t able to stop Hyunjin though Minho is convinced that he would. 

  
  
  
  


“Let’s take a break!” 

Seungmin instantly drops on the floor as soon as their Performing Arts professor announces through the loudspeaker in the theater. Since the class begins at 3pm, they have been continuously practicing for their Romeo and Juliet musical without any single break. The only break Seungmin manages to get is when his character is not playing and it’s barely five minutes each. Heaving out a tired sigh, he gets up and drags his feet to where his backpack is located, taking out his phone to see some new text messages. His eyes light up excitedly seeing the sender.

**From: Bin Binnie**

_[4:15pm]_

Hey

I’m in town. Let's meet up!

I mean your town

Eyes widen in surprise, Seungmin lets out a soft gasp upon reading the text messages. It’s been a few months since he met his best friend and the thought of meeting him again excites him. Without wasting any time, he quickly replies back.

**Seungmin**

Oh, my God, Changbin!

What are you doing here in my town?

**Bin Binnie**

To visit you of course!

**Seungmin**

Only you? What about Innie?

**Bin Binnie**

_[voice note]_ Seungminnie!!!

**Seungmin**

_[voice note]_ Innie!! I miss you!!

**Bin Binnie**

Why are you speaking in hush?

Anyway, what time will your class end?

We’ll pick you up for dinner

When their professor announces that they’ll be continuing the practice, Seungmin quickly types his reply back and then shoves his phone into the backpack. With a delighted smile and warm feeling in his chest, he returns to the stage and they begin practicing all over again. He can’t wait for practice to be over, because he can’t wait to meet his best friends.

The practice thankfully ends half an hour later. More often than not, their professor tends to drag the practice to at least fifteen minutes later and Seungmin is grateful that they’re not dragging any further today. His body is sore from extensive practice. He doesn’t get why they have to practice so much when the musical is months away. Maybe their professor just wants their musical play to be perfect and Seungmin can understand why. 

Seungmin picks up his backpack and slings it on one shoulder, then shuffling his way out of the place. He plans to return to the dorm, take a shower and wait for Changbin and Jeongin to pick him up. Except, it doesn’t quite happen the way he's planning to. Stepping outside, the corner of his eyes quickly catches the sight of a tall guy leaning his back on the wall, whom Seungmin recognizes immediately. 

Hyunjin is waiting for him. Why? Seungmin doesn’t know. But Hyunjin waits for him after his Performing Arts class is first.

His heart rate picks up the moment their eyes lock, a delightful smile grows on Hyunjin’s face automatically. Hyunjin raises a hand with a charming smile on his lips. As Seungmin approaches the raven-haired guy, his brain is running a million questions of why Hyunjin would be there and looking bright as the shining stars in the night sky. Seungmin thinks he has an idea why.

“Hi,” Hyunjin greets in a soft tiny voice.

“Hey,” Seungmin replies, stopping in front of Hyunjin. “I guess you have good news?” He breaks into a soft chuckle when Hyunjin’s eyes grow, lips parting in mild surprise.

“How do you know?”

Seungmin bites back a smile at how adorable Hyunjin’s expression looks. “For a start, your bright face, and then there’s also your wide charming smile. Couldn’t miss that one.”

“Oh.” A rush of heat rapidly spreads across his cheeks, turning into light pink blush. Reaching a hand to his neck, Hyunjin rubs it lightly, feeling a tad bit embarrassed. He grins, almost sheepishly. “So, I passed the assessment, though it’s the midterm only. I need to work harder for the finals.”

Smile stretching into a happy grin, Seungmin claps his hands in tiny, loud enough for Hyunjin alone to hear it. “That’s great! It’s an achievement nonetheless. You did well.” His gaze on Hyunjin briefly flickers under his eyes. Despite his bright expression, the dark shadows lining down under Hyunjin’s eyes stay visible. “I hope you catch up on some sleep soon.”

“Are my dark circles that bad?” Hyunjin asks, brows slightly furrowing, lips turning into a pout. He attempts to cover them with his hands after that.

Seungmin straightaway melts at that. He gives Hyunjin a fond smile and shakes his head. “Not really, but you look like you really could use some sleep.”

“Oh, okay.” Hyunjin turns quiet and Seungmin doesn’t say another word either, so he waits. Hyunjin licks his lips, scratching the back of his neck almost awkwardly as if he’s nervous. “I haven’t thanked you yet for being there for me on that night.” Seungmin knows which night Hyunjin is talking about. “Can I buy you dinner? Tonight?”

Seungmin blinks once, twice. “Tonight?” Oh crap, he’s meeting his best friends tonight.

“Yeah. Is that okay with you?” Hyunjin’s eyes are bright, his expression is hopeful. There’s no way Seungmin would say no to him. “Or, you’re going to be busy?” Hyunjin adds. There’s a slight drop in his shoulders that should go unnoticed but Seungmin does notice. He _badly_ wants to have dinner with Hyunjin at this point.

“Can you give me a moment?” Seungmin hesitantly asks, chewing a lip nervously for some reason. Earning an unsure nod from Hyunjin, he flashes him a quick smile and runs back into the theater, rushingly taking out his phone and beginning to vigorously type a text message.

**Seungmin**

Please tell me you’re in town for more than one day?

**Bin Binnie**

Uh we’re going back tomorrow afternoon

Innie can’t skip school for more than two days

Why?

Seungmin bites his lips reading the text messages. He doesn’t know whether to feel disappointed that his best friends are visiting just for only one day or that he’s going to miss dinner with Hyunjin. There's always next time, right?

**Seungmin**

Really?

Ok then pick me up at 7pm

See you

**Bin Binnie**

Okie noted

See you

A sigh escapes his mouth as Seungmin keeps his phone back in his pocket. He really wants to have dinner with Hyunjin, but it has been months since he’s seen his best friends, so there’s not really a choice for him to choose. Heading out from the theater (again), he drags his feet and approaches Hyunjin, who still remains standing at the same place, and stops right in front of Hyunjin. The bright anticipating expression Hyunjin has on his face breaks Seungmin’s heart a little. 

He doesn’t like to see it gone.

Seungmin gives him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Hyunjin. My friends are coming over for a visit and I can only see them tonight.”

Seungmin watches a flicker of change in Hyunjin’s eyes. His smile fades a little. It’s barely noticeable. He feels bad, but he would feel even worse if he misses the dinner with his friends who he has known since he was a kid. Hyunjin’s lips curl into a warm smile, shaking his head.

“No, it’s fine,” he assures, “Let’s go sometimes later.”

“Are you sure?” Seungmin’s lips jut out, slightly pouting. “Sorry. What about tomorrow night?"

“I think we’ll be busy until term break. I have two subjects more for midterms and we also have two presentations incoming, so I guess there’s kinda no actual break in between…” Hyunjin’s voice trails off, pressing his lips into a firm line.

Seungmin heaves out a dejected sigh, shoulders dropping in disappointment. There’s no chance for them to have a quiet and peaceful dinner before the term break. “We’re that busy, huh?”

Hyunjin shrugs in response as if saying _this is our life now_ and that’s true. 

Seungmin meets Hyunjin’s eyes and smiles apologetically. “I’m sorry, okay. How about we just grab a quick bite sometime before the term break?”

"Sure." Smiling softly, Hyunjin puts his both hands on Seungmin’s shoulders, squeezing them lightly. “And hey, I said it’s fine so stop apologizing,” he pauses, breaking into an amused chuckle, earning himself a frown from the brunet.

“What’s so funny?” Seungmin asks, curious.

“This reminds me of the first time we met. You apologized so much for a mini accident,” Hyunjin explains, his smile stretching to a huge teasing grin.

Seungmin’s face glows red when he finally remembers the incident, deliberately bumping Hyunjin on the shoulder and storming off after that. _Utterly embarrassing_ , Seungmin hisses under his breath. Hyunjin doesn’t stop however, he continues to tease him as he follows after him, making their way back to the dorm.

  
  
  
  


As promised, Changbin and Jeongin come to pick Seungmin up at 7pm on the dot. He dashes over and greets both of them with a bone-crushing hug the moment they meet.

"I missed you guys. It feels like forever since we met," Seungmin mutters in a muffled voice.

They decide to settle down at one of the diners along the same streets where he and Hyunjin came over before for the Light Fest. The long narrow streets turn out to be a little bigger than he thought.

Seungmin is in the middle of a conversation with his friends when he feels a buzz and then followed by a soft _ding_ on his phone. He casually picks it up and checks the text message. The corners of his lips automatically pull up upon reading it; Hyunjin just sends him something funny. He quickly types back a reply and puts his phone aside, looking up only to see his friends are giving him a knowing gaze.

"Who is that?" Jeongin asks, a teasing smile grows wide on his face. He wiggles his brows playfully.

Seungmin gives them an awkward smile. "It's none of your business."

"Well, it _is_ our business now that we see you have this biggest brightest smile on your face that you practically flaunt to us right now," Changbin teases, a brow arched upward.

Seungmin presses his lips into a firm line, he doesn't really want to have the kind of conversation just yet. Not yet, but his best friends are anticipating in silence. He rolls his eyes and heaves out a sigh of defeat. Changbin and Jeongin look at each other in amusement and grin excitedly before turning their attention back to their friend.

"He's a friend," Seungmin begins.

"For now," Jeongin eagerly chimes in.

"So, it’s a he," Changbin remarks, mouth quirking upward on one side. "Go on."

Clearing his throat, Seungmin continues, "His name is Hyunjin. We're in the same major, though our minors are different, and that's how we got close. He asked me out to dinner tonight, but you guys are my first priority and I missed you, so...yeah."

It's silent for a moment. Seungmin watches their expressions morph into these disbelief look on their faces and he wonders why.

"Idiot," both of them blurt out simultaneously. They swiftly turn to look at each other in surprise. "Soulmates things," they add at the same time and giggle, amused.

"Excuse me?" Seungmin knits his brows, completely confused. His eyes shift from Changbin and Jeongin back to back, demanding an explanation.

"You should just ditch us and go to the dinner with him," Changbin says nonchalantly. “I mean, you sound like you _badly_ wanted to go.”

Jeongin nods enthusiastically. "Yeah, we would understand."

Seungmin gives them an incredulous look, can't believe what his ears are hearing. He's offended. "Which part of _I missed you_ , you don't understand? We haven't seen each other like in months."

Jeongin shrugs. "Your term break begins next week, right? We could just meet then."

Seungmin's mouth gapes open, totally surprised. He doesn't see that coming and the way that Jeongin is right. The fact that the term break is starting next week doesn't cross his mind. _At all_. He wants to say something, but eventually, he closes his mouth, not knowing what to reply. He gawks at the food on the table before loud laughter erupts from his two friends.

"We're just teasing you." Changbin grins cheekily. "But we don't mind if you really ditch us. Innie and I could just stroll around here and have a little date maybe. It's just…," Changbin pauses before his lips stretching into a soft smile. His eyes are genuine and kind. "You seem a lot brighter than the last time I saw you. You're happy. I know you are, and I'm happy to see it."

"Me too!" Jeongin chimes in, grinning happily.

Knowing that they're right, Seungmin only smiles in return. 

It's almost 10pm when Changbin's car pulls up in front of Seungmin's dorm building. They spend over an hour in the diner before moving to a nearby coffee shop for some desserts. Safe to say Jeongin finishes three slices of cake and two glasses of iced chocolate while they're there.

"Can I at least get a cheek kiss?" Changbin casually requests after watching the brunet gives Jeongin a quick forehead kiss.

A glare is quickly thrown at the older guy. Seungmin scrunches his face in disgust. "Gross. You already got a hug, that's more than enough."

"You used to kiss my cheek every day when we were kids. And also you kept telling me that you love me and stuff." Changbin sounds like he's pleading at this moment. He’s a tad bit sulky, Seungmin can tell.

"Well, the keyword is _kids_ , and guess who isn't a kid anymore," Seungmin deadpans.

Pressing his lips into a line, Changbin grabs Seungmin's shoulders and forcefully shoves his face to him. "I don't care. Give me a kiss on the cheek." 

In the background, Jeongin bursts into hearty laughter, enjoying himself a little bit too much watching the two's antics. Seungmin struggles to keep his face away from Changbin as much as possible. He eventually stops moving and heaves out a sigh, shooting a dagger through his glare. Reluctantly, Seungmin leans forward and gives Changbin the faintest cheek kiss possible. 

"See it isn't that hard," Changbin mutters, smiling in satisfaction. Seungmin warns him not to contact him ever after that and more laughter ensues.

And in the end, the term break starts without Seungmin and Hyunjin going for the said promise.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


After the term break, both Seungmin and Hyunjin get equally busy with their schedules and are swamped with work and assignments that they barely have time to take a break, let alone to have leisure hang out. It’s then things between them begin to go south.

“One, two, three!”

A loud voice speaks out the three words on repeat, echoing throughout the dance studio as Hyunjin diligently follows through the instructor’s dance moves, along with the other 15 students. They’re currently learning modern dance choreography for their next performance assessment. As soon as the instructor announces ‘ _ten minutes break_ ’, everyone in the studio quickly scrambles to the side to take a breath. Hyunjin plops himself down next to Felix as he grabs his bottle and gulps down the water.

“I like modern dance. It’s cool,” Felix comments, wiping up the dripping water on the corner of his mouth. “The way you move is so cool though. Like you’re made for the dance.”

Hyunjin lets out a chuckle and stares at Felix, skeptical. “Really?”

The redhead nods rapidly and grins brightly. “I’m serious. I think you’re going to ace this assessment.”

“You’re reaching.” Hyunjin laughs and shakes his head in amusement, putting his bottle aside. “I’m—” His sentence is stopped midway when he feels a buzz in his backpack, accompanied by GOT7’s You Are that he sets as the ringtone. He fishes it out of the backpack and sees the caller: _Seungminnie_.

Hyunjin watches it ring in his hand for quite some time until Felix speaks, “Aren’t you going to answer that?”

“Uh?” Hyunjin glances up at Felix before shifting his gaze back to his phone. “I don’t feel like it,” he answers in a low voice. As soon as it stops ringing, he sets his phone to silent mode. 

“Are you and Seungmin fighting or something?” Felix asks, concerned. 

“What?” Hyunjin lets out an incredulous laugh at the redhead’s question. “No, I’m not.” He winces slightly realizing that his voice sounds a lot more defensive than he intends to. He looks up from his phone to see Felix is staring at him with a raised brow, silently questioning. “Trust me. We’re not.”

It's just a moment of silence, but Hyunjin feels like Felix is boring a hole through his stare, sending a shudder to his spine. Felix shrugs, averting his gaze to somewhere else. “Whatever you say.”

Not long after, his phone buzzes again and the screen lights up, showing a text message from Seungmin. Hyunjin reluctantly opens it to read.

**From: Seungminnie**

Hyunjin!!

Want to grab a bite together after class?

Hyunjin stares at the screen for a long time, contemplating whether to go or say that he’s busy like he does a few times for the past two weeks. It’s true that they barely have time to take a break, but it doesn't necessarily mean they can’t take a little time out of their day to eat together. He sighs quietly, looking up only to meet Felix’s curious eyes. The redhead gives him a questioning look, arching a brow upward. The shuddering vibe he held earlier has completely vanished, it seems.

“Do you want to join Seungmin and I for a bite later after class?” Hyunjin asks. Felix’s eyes widen in excitement and without thinking much, he easily agrees.

**To: Seungminnie**

Can Felix tag along?

Seungmin replies ten seconds later, _Of course! The more the merrier._


	4. Twinkling Stars

_On the night Hyunjin asked Seungmin out to dinner, he meant to take Seungmin out on a date, and as well as a gesture of gratitude for comforting him on one of those difficult days that he had. He absolutely hated to show anyone that side of him, especially not in front of Seungmin, but somehow being around him made Hyunjin feel safe and comfortable to show Seungmin that side of him. That side that he despised the most._

_Hyunjin didn't usually talk about himself, but with Seungmin, Hyunjin found it rather easy to open up. His words flowed out of his mouth so effortlessly that sometimes he couldn’t believe what he was saying. Seungmin made it easy._

_Often, Hyunjin felt like he was hiding behind an invisible mask, but with Seungmin, Hyunjin felt like himself. He felt like he didn't need his invisible mask to be around Seungmin._

_Hyunjin liked being with Seungmin, and he was the only person Hyunjin wanted to be with._

_When Seungmin told him that he couldn’t make it, it was a lie if Hyunjin didn’t feel disappointed by the unfortunate timing, but he understood. He had friends too, and he would absolutely prioritize them if he were Seungmin._

_Hyunjin was returning to the dorm after having dinner with Minho and Jisung when he realized that his phone wasn’t in his pocket, frantically fumbling around his pants for it, but he found nothing. He might have accidentally left his phone in the car._

_“I forgot my phone.” Hyunjin groaned, stopping his tracks in the middle of the hallway. He threw his head to the back, making a frustrated noise. Minho and Jisung halted their tracks and swiftly turned to him._

_“Again? That’s three times in a row tonight. What are the odds?” Jisung casually commented. “You okay?”_

_“Yeah. I think I just need some sleep. Totally sleep deprived. Minho, key?”_

_Minho fished out his car key and threw it to Hyunjin. “Catch!” He chortled in amusement watching Hyunjin clumsily trying to catch it, to which the key ended up falling on the floor._

_“Nice,” Hyunjin deadpanned and glared at his roommate. He bent down and picked it up. “Be right back.”_

_Hyunjin was about to enter the dorm building after retrieving his phone when there was a bright light beaming towards him, causing him to stop his step. He turned and promptly spared a glance at the car which just pulled up in front of the building. Raising his hand up mid-air to block the beaming headlight, between the narrow gap of his fingers, Hyunjin saw Seungmin getting off the car. He smiled and decided to wait for Seungmin._

_It was a few moments later when he saw it: Seungmin kissed someone._

_He felt a sharp stab in his heart. It ached. Terribly._

_He promptly looked away and began to drag his heavy feet inside._

_Hyunjin didn’t look back and just kept on walking._

_Ding._

_Ding._

_Ding._

The notification sound of Hyunjin’s phone continuously fills the room. It bothers him, but right now, with earphones in his ears, eyes on the laptop screen, he ignores it. His eyes momentarily flicker to the phone that he purposely puts upside down to focus on his current task, hands itching to take the phone and check the text messages. He returns his attention to the screen when it finally quiets down.

Five minutes later, a few knocks are heard on the door. 

Hyunjin stops typing at his laptop and turns to Minho, who’s looking at him with the same curious face as him. Minho gestures with his head, telling him to check whoever it is at the door. Hyunjin groans quietly, lazily rises from the chair, and strolls toward the door. When he opens the door, his body stiffens at the sight of a certain someone.

It’s Seungmin.

“Hey,” Seungmin greets with a blinding smile. Hyunjin’s heart skips a beat. “Are you busy? I texted you.”

“Oh, really? Sorry. I didn’t check my phone.” Hyunjin nervously scratches his neck. “Got caught in the assignment that Professor Lim gave us,” he explains. He’s been working on the assignment for a few days already and hasn't finished it.

“Oh. Do you need help with it?” Seungmin asks, concerned.

“No,” Hyunjin replies and internally winces at how quick his reply is. “I’m good. Just...I’ve been procrastinating it. By the way, what brings you here?”

Seungmin’s face quickly brightens, his smile stretching wider, brighter, and _hopeful_. “Want to go out for a quick dinner?”

Hyunjin’s breath hitches quietly. For the past weeks, he successfully manages to avoid Seungmin’s invitation to eat together (when it’s only the two of them, alone) through text messages, and sometimes he would spend his free time outside the dorm so that he doesn't run into him. But it's different today. Seungmin is asking him directly in front of him, and now he’s profoundly bewildered. Hyunjin swallows nervously, racking his brain to come up with something.

Anything that would make a plausible excuse.

“You guys are going for dinner?” Minho asks, breaking the strange tension that lingers between the two of them. He stays focused solely on his phone.

Hyunjin promptly turns his head toward his roommate, somehow feeling thankful that he interrupts them. “Want to tag along with us?” he quickly asks.

Minho looks up from his phone and blinks his eyes a few times, pondering about it. He eventually nods, agreed. “Sure. Jisung will join us too. We’ll pick him up at his workplace.”

Hyunjin heaves a quiet sigh of relief and turns to Seungmin with a small smile. “So, it’s a yes.”

“Cool. See you tonight,” Seungmin replies, sounding half-hearted. He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes and Hyunjin misses the way Seungmin’s bright eyes change to a pair of nearly dimmed eyes.

The drive to Jisung’s workplace is unusually quiet. Minho decides that he’s driving and makes both Seungmin and Hyunjin sit at the back together. Hyunjin argues at first saying he wants to sit at the front, but Minho argues back sternly saying that he’s saving the seat for _his boyfriend._ Hyunjin eventually admits defeat and goes to sit with Seungmin at the back. He throws his gaze out the window, absent-mindedly watching outside. Neither of them says anything throughout the ride. 

They stop for a while to pick Jisung up.

“What’s this strange tension I’m feeling?” Jisung asks once he closes the door, shifting his gaze to each of them, from Minho to Hyunjin to Seungmin and finally back to Minho. He narrows his eyes at his boyfriend and gives him a _‘what’s going on’_ look. Minho shrugs and turns his head to the front, casually driving off. Not fussing over it anymore, Jisung turns on the radio after that, blasting the car with loud music.

The newly-opened diner they settled in is filled and mostly packed with students like themselves. Jisung is the one who suggested the diner when they are trying to decide the place to have dinner, saying that it would be nice to try out the place. They all agree and eventually end up at the corner of the diner.

“The customer was super rude! He already drank a quarter of his juice and then he had the audacity to demand a new drink just because we didn’t put ice in his drink. I mean, he ordered cold-pressed juice, not an iced juice, so he should have expected that,” Jisung rambles while they're eating, throwing his hands in the air frustratingly. 

Sitting next to Jisung, Seungmin laughs, amused, earning Hyunjin’s attention immediately. Seungmin is sitting right in front of him. His gaze unknowingly travels down to Seungmin’s lips and stays there for a good few seconds.

“What happened next?” Seungmin asks curiously, making Hyunjin’s heart pound, actually realizing what he is looking at. Immediately, he tears his gaze away and returns his attention back to Jisung.

“He kept on demanding a new drink, but of course we couldn’t just give him one. I mean, if he asked us to put some ice in it, we would do it gladly. But he didn’t. So, we told our manager and let her deal with him. Five minutes after that, he stormed out of the café without a new drink. I don’t know what my manager told him but serve him right,” Jisung finishes, having a smug smile on his face.

Hyunjin cackles, entertained by Jisung. “If you were to deal with the customer yourself, I bet you would snatch the drink from his hand, and pour it on top of his head. And then, make him a new drink.”

“Definitely something he would do,” Minho adds monotonously, sipping his drink while glancing at Jisung.

“I’m going to bet he would do much worse," Seungmin teases, wiggling his brows playfully.

"Hey! I'm still a decent guy, okay," Jisung whines and scowls after that, making the other three burst into a peal of hearty laughter.

Hyunjin quickly high fives Minho in triumph, and then naturally brings his hand to Seungmin, expecting him to return it. Hand up in the midair, he pauses and their eyes briefly meet. Hyunjin blinks and waits expectantly. Seungmin’s mouth curves upward, and then happily high fives him back before joining the conversation again.

Somehow in mid conversation, Hyunjin’s gaze is unwittingly redirected back to Seungmin, watching him silently and discreetly. At some points, his eyes are fixated at Seungmin’s lips. There’s something there that’s bothering him. Without a second thought, he mindlessly reaches out his hand and brushes his finger lightly at the corner of Seungmin’s mouth. It takes him a full five seconds to realize what he just did. Eyes widen in surprise, Hyunjin gasps softly and frantically retracts his hand, fumbling for his words to explain before he stops and takes a breath, calming himself.

“There were crumbs sticking there,” Hyunjin says slowly without stuttering in between, and then he shows a nervous smile.

Seungmin breaks into a fond smile, seeming almost pleased. His cheeks are tainted with a light shade of crimson. “Thanks for removing it.”

_Freaking muscle memory_ , Hyunjin curses in his head, wanting to slam his hand with a hammer for the automatic action he just does.

Minho turns to him and gives him a weird look, tilting his head slightly with a hint of confusion. Hyunjin ignores him and continues eating his food.

It’s a few minutes after Hyunjin finishes eating his food, eyes staring at the empty plate on the table while absent-mindedly poking the uneaten onion slices with a utensil. There’s nothing particular in his mind at the moment. Mindlessly, he reaches for his glass of lemonade and nearly drinks it when a hand stops him, grabbing his forearm. It makes him look up promptly and meets the owner of the hand’s eyes confusedly.

“You can’t drink my latte. It’s almost a whole milk, if you haven’t noticed,” Seungmin tells him with a small smile.

Hyunjin takes a look at the glass he’s holding, and his eyes widen comically realizing that it’s indeed Seungmin’s latte, not his lemonade. Embarrassed, he quickly puts it down near Seungmin and picks up his lemonade, drinking it immediately to quench his thirst. Thanks to Seungmin's quick act, he doesn't have to suffer from a stomach ache later.

“You okay?” Seungmin asks, his voice coated with worry. His hand reaches for Hyunjin’s hand. The warm touch startles Hyunjin. His shoulders tense up. He shifts his gaze to their hands and stares blankly at them for some time. The urge to flip his hand and holds Seungmin’s warm hand is skyrocketing in his chest. 

_I want to hold that hand_ , his brain screams.

“Hyunjin?” Seungmin’s soft, worried voice pulls Hyunjin out of his trance, making his eyes flicker up and meet Seungmin’s concerned eyes.

“Oh, yeah. I’m okay. Just a little tired, and...distracted, I guess,” Hyunjin replies, gradually pulling his hand out of Seungmin’s loose grip. He takes a notice of Seungmin’s change of expression and decides to stand, confusing his other two friends.

"I'm going to the toilet," Hyunjin tells them and spares a glance at Seungmin before turning away.

“Jin, wait!” Jisung yells when Hyunjin is about to exit the diner. Immediately, he stops his tracks, turns toward Jisung, and watches him talking to the cashier at the register. Jisung has offered to pay for the dinner, to their delight, and there’s absolutely no complaint at all. Minho and Seungmin already head outside. Bowing politely at the cashier, Jisung strolls over and drapes an arm around Hyunjin’s shoulders, dragging him as he begins to walk.

Neither of them says anything as they stroll along the pavement and make their way to the parking lot.

“Hyunjin,” Jisung says in a firm yet gentle voice. Every time he calls Hyunjin with his full name instead of his usual nickname, especially in the specific tone, it never fails to give him a shudder. Hyunjin glances warily at his best friend, anxiously anticipating his next words.

“You know you can always tell Minho and I things, right? Whatever you’re dealing with.”

Hyunjin laughs nervously, scratching his neck. “What are you talking about? I’m fine.”

Jisung scoffs in disbelief. “Yeah, right. You don’t have to lie to me. I know you. Inside out. Minho too. There’s something going on between you and Seungmin. Something is definitely off about you. And for your information, we noticed. We’re not blind, Jin.”

Hyunjin falls silent, his mouth is zipped tight, his eyes are wandering everywhere else but Jisung. He doesn’t know how and what exactly to respond.

Voice laced with obvious worry, Jisung continues, “We’re not going to intervene in your problem. Both of you are already adults, and you’re legit six months older than Seungmin and I, technically. It’s just...Seungmin is worried about you. _I’m_ worried about you, and so is Minho, despite him saying he doesn’t care about you sometimes. We just want you to be okay, Jin.”

Jisung’s words stick in Hyunjin’s mind for the rest of the week.

“Where are you going?” Hyunjin asks with a questioning look on his face as he emerges from the bathroom. His eyes follow Minho who’s moving frantically around the room. He notices that the older guy is actually more dressed up than usual, wearing a leather jacket and a plain white tee with tight black jeans. “And why are you rushing?”

“Sungie and I are going out,” Minho answers quickly, grabbing some clothes and shoving them into his backpack. “It’s our second anniversary, so we’re spending the night out, and I’m late.”

Hyunjin nods understandingly, flopping himself down on the mattress. “That explains it,” he says. He doesn’t question how the hell the couple has time for it when finals are two weeks away. Usually, the last two weeks are the busiest and craziest weeks of all. “Anyway, have fun. Try to not break anything.” He bursts into high-pitched laughter when Minho shoots a dagger at him through his death glare. “How long will you two be away?”

“We’ll be back by Sunday,” Minho replies in response, slinging the backpack to his shoulder. “So try not to trash the room.”

Hyunjin lets out an incredulous laugh. “Excuse me? Me? Trashing our room? That’s you.”

Minho shrugs nonchalantly, reaching for the doorknob. “Just saying. I feel like you would. Oh, right,” he pauses, another hand on the hip as he turns slightly toward Hyunjin. He licks his lips, contemplating for a second. “For the love of God, please fix whatever _things_ you have with Seungmin. It’s suffocating to watch you like that.”

Hyunjin freezes at his spot, trying hard not to look like he’s completely shocked. He swallows. “Like what?” His voice is low.

“Like someone who lost the love of their life.” Minho sighs. “See you on Sunday, Jin.”

With that, the door closes and leaves Hyunjin never feeling so alone in the room.

Hyunjin is doing his assignment while slowly bobbing his head to the blasting music when he hears knocking on the door. Lazily rising from the chair and shuffling over to the door, he opens it to see a figure he expects the least. His breath hitches and his body freezes upon laying his eyes on the smiling Seungmin standing in front of him with a pillow in his arms.

“Hi. Can I come in?”

Hyunjin blinks a few times and eventually, he nods, letting Seungmin in. “What brings you here with a pillow?” he asks, closing the door and then turning to see Seungmin already settling himself comfortably on his bed. He chews a lip, feeling a surge of nervousness rising in the pit of his stomach.

“Let’s watch movies!” Seungmin suggests excitedly, eyes sparkling brightly in anticipation with a radiant smile gracing his face.

"I have assignments to do," Hyunjin replies immediately, pointing to the bunch of papers scattered on his desk and a few opened documents on the screen of his laptop.

"And it's not due until Monday." Seungmin giggles. The sound echoes throughout the room. "Come on, it's Friday night. Let’s watch something before we get sucked into the crazy weeks again."

Hyunjin wants to say no, wants to say he can't, wants to say that he really has a lot of assignments to complete though that’s technically half true, but the moment his eyes lay on the pouty lips Seungmin's giving him, he finds himself reaching for the laptop, to which turning the pouty lips of Seungmin into the dazzling grin Hyunjin misses.

It’s that moment he realizes that he misses Seungmin _so much_ and it hurts.

Walking up to the bed, he sinks next to Seungmin on the mattress, who is already having his back leaning against the wall, stretching his long legs forward while comfortably hugging the pillow he brings over. Hyunjin tries to keep a distance, but Seungmin inches closer to him anyway. Hyunjin doesn’t make an effort to move anymore.

“What do you want to watch?” Hyunjin asks as he browses through Netflix.

“Just put on anything. Not horror though. Because you can’t handle it and I'm going to jump in shock every time you get startled."

Hyunjin turns his head to him, frowning a little. "Hey, it’s not that bad," he replies defensively.

A laugh escapes Seungmin's mouth, he's amused, again the sound echoes in the room. Hyunjin misses his laugh _terribly_. "It _is_ bad. Remember when you clung to me the whole time we watched Insidious Chapter 3? It wasn't really that scary yet my heart jumped because of you."

"It was scary okay. You just could handle it better than me."

Seungmin laughs again, his pair of eyes crinkling into crescent moons. Hyunjin misses his pretty crinkled eyes too. "Okay choose a not-horror movie. A romantic comedy perhaps? Or just a romantic one. Since we're pretty much swamped with hectic schedules and loads of assignments, so it'll be great to de-stress."

"What if we just rewatch the Teen Wolf series?" Hyunjin suggests eventually after briefly browsing through the options. He couldn’t exactly find anything that interests him.

"Oh!” Seungmin exclaims, smiling brightly. “That’s a great idea. Which season?"

As the episode of Teen Wolf starts playing, they gradually become quiet and have their focus on the screen while making occasional comments in between. Hyunjin is a little too immersed in the show that he’s oblivious to the weight that’s leaning against his body, and eventually, the weight ends up on his laps, or he simply just doesn't realize it because it's a normal occurrence for them. He’s just _that_ comfortable with Seungmin. He only realizes that Seungmin, who is now laying his head comfortably on Hyunjin's laps, is playing with his fingers while watching the show when the brunet speaks out,

"Hyunjin, what's your ideal date?" Seungmin doesn't shift. His gaze remains focused on the screen.

The sudden question makes Hyunjin's heart skip a beat, not expecting such questions, but it’s kind of logical for Seungmin to ask such questions because in the show they’re watching, the characters are currently having their first date. Hyunjin clears his throat before speaking, not wanting his nervousness to show so much.

"I've always liked stargazing, so it will be nice to watch the twinkling stars in the night sky under the moonlight with someone," Hyunjin tells him dreamily. It's one of his wishes to bring his future partner to stargaze sometimes in the future.

"Sappy," Seungmin comments. "But I like sappy."

"What about you?" It's Hyunjin's turn to ask. "What is your ideal date?"

Seungmin smiles softly. " _This_." 

Hyunjin's heart jumps. It starts to beat erratically.

"I mean,” Seungmin adds, “...something like this. It doesn't have to be extravagant. Just a simple and warm cuddle would be a really nice date."

“Not in summer though. It’d be hot as hell,” Hyunjin jokes.

Seungmin bursts into soft laughter. “Yeah, it would."

Hyunjin doesn't say anything after that. Instead, he shifts his gaze back on the screen, mind wandering elsewhere while thinking about what Seungmin just said. Silence falls upon them as they continue to watch the movie.

"Hyunjin, do you mind if I sleep here tonight? Jisung is out, and it's awfully silent, and I don't want to sleep alone," Seungmin whines as he adjusts his position, switching his gaze from the screen to Hyunjin now, lying on his back. "Since Minho's bed is off-limits, I can sleep on the floor, so you don't need to give up your bed."

Hyunjin blinks rapidly. A surge of panic rises in his stomach. He doesn’t think, he just blurts it out, "If it's too silent, then you can put on music in the background?"

"My phone is charging."

"Your lap—"

Seungmin immediately shifts his weight and pushes himself to sit, having his back facing Hyunjin. Hyunjin thinks it’s crazy how he already misses the warmth that lies on his laps. “Do you not want me here?” Seungmin’s voice is wavered and _hurt._

Hyunjin’s eyes widen, shocked. “What? No! I want you here, of course!” His body stiffens, tensing up.

Seungmin swiftly turns his body to face Hyunjin, glancing up at him with a pained expression. His dark brown irises are _gloomy_ , _disheartened_. “Then what, Hyunjin? Tell me what it is so I can fix it.”

Hyunjin flinches at Seungmin's outburst. Never once has he seen Seungmin getting mad. Not even when he's frustrated over something he's supposed to be mad for. Hyunjin nervously swallows the lump forming in his throat, racking up his brain to come up with something that can convince Seungmin that he _wants_ him there with him. He might have wanted to push him away an hour and a half ago, but not right now.

Hyunjin _absolutely_ wants Seungmin there with him.

_I can’t handle being in the same room as you because all I want to do is to hold your hands, to run my fingers through your silky hair, to feel your smooth skin under my fingertips, to engulf you in my arms, and to kiss the life out of you_ , Hyunjin wants to say. His eyes are staring at Seungmin longingly, he _desperately_ wants to confess everything he feels about Seungmin, but he couldn’t find the courage to do so. 

Not when he thinks Seungmin likes someone else.

Seungmin’s eyes grow wide and bright. 

Bright like the twinkling stars in the night sky. 

Bright like the spotlight in the center of the theatre stage. 

Bright like the afternoon sun. 

Bright like the center of the universe. 

His lips slightly part. He almost doesn’t blink at all. “What…?”

Hyunjin is completely confused with Seungmin’s expression. He doesn’t say anything yet, so why is Seungmin reacting? “What?” His brows knit together, frowning in confusion. Seungmin is still gazing at him with the same bright, wide eyes. 

It’s right at that moment the realization hits him, _hard_ and _strong_. 

There's no turning back.

Hyunjin gasps, loud and clear, before quickly covering his mouth on instinct, his eyes bulging out of their pockets, _totally_ in shock. “...did I say that out loud?” His voice is muffled behind his hands, slightly croaky, coated with embarrassment.

Seungmin gives him a slow nod.

_Well, shoot._

Hyunjin can feel a rush of heat creeping up his face, his heart racing fast enough that he can hear it beating in his eardrums. He can’t believe he lets those longing words that he keeps in the deepest part of his heart slip out through his lips just like _that_. Now, he _really_ wants to bury himself seven feet under the ground and never come out to the surface ever again.

“Hyunjin, do you like me?” Seungmin’s voice sounds soft and careful. There’s a tinge of hope in his voice if Hyunjin hears it correctly, but he can’t be sure. He doesn’t dare to hope.

Hyunjin gulps. The answer is obvious, and Seungmin isn't an idiot. He wants to hear Hyunjin say it directly with his own mouth, but Hyunjin doesn't know if he can answer it. He can choose to be silent and not give Seungmin what he wants him to say, but Hyunjin's harboring feelings for Seungmin won't allow him to do that. Even if his heart is going to break, he chooses to say the truth.

Hyunjin breathes in. “Yeah, I like you so much that it's suffocating me.”

_Great. Now, Seungmin knows and he's going to—_

“Good. I like you too,” Seungmin confesses, immediately and _almost_ nonchalantly. The corners of his lips pull into a blinding smile then, a bright shade of crimson red dusting all over his ears and cheeks. His eyes remain as bright as the sun.

Hyunjin blinks his eyes a few times, trying to register what Seungmin has just said. _I like you too_. Seungmin’s voice repeats in his ears like a broken record. “What?”

Seungmin’s soft giggles echo in the room, _once again_. 

Hyunjin would _never_ get tired hearing that soft angelic giggles. 

Before Hyunjin can fully register everything, Seungmin lunges forward toward him and the next thing he knows, a pair of warm hands resting gently on his cheeks and Seungmin’s face is _really_ close to his own. He hears a faint whisper of _“I like you too, Hyunjin”_ , warm breath tickling his face before his chin tilts up and something soft is pressed against his lips.

Seungmin _is_ kissing him.

It _finally_ registers to him that Seungmin _actually_ likes him back. When Hyunjin feels Seungmin’s lips gently move against his, he instinctively closes his eyes and kisses him back, fingers finding Seungmin's shirt and lightly grabbing on the fabric. Seungmin’s hands slowly slide down to his neck, clutching to his hair slightly as he deepens the kiss. The skin where Seungmin touches, burns, and so are his lips.

Hyunjin sighs into the heat, into the hands, melting under the fire in his chest that pops and blazes. Seungmin tastes like mint, and smells like fresh cotton. Hyunjin is the first one to pull away after feeling like an eternity, catching his breath. Both of them are in a daze and dizzy, their faces are flushed red. 

“Is this real?” Hyunjin asks dreamily in a heavy breathy voice.

Seungmin laughs, breathlessly. “Yes, this is real.”

Hyunjin laughs, too, because Seungmin's laugh is contagious and his heart is full. When he notices that Seungmin is sitting in an awkward and uncomfortable position, Hyunjin reaches his hands to Seungmin’s hips and then gingerly pulls him to crawl up between his stretched out legs, settling his weight on his thighs. He feels a grip tightening on his shoulders as Seungmin tries to make himself comfortable. Their faces are so close that their warm breaths fanning each other’s faces, though Seungmin’s is slightly higher.

“You okay?” Seungmin asks, delicately brushing away the hair that falls in Hyunjin's eyes. He rests his hand lightly on Hyunjin’s cheek and the other around his neck.

Hyunjin leans to the touch and grins. “Yeah, you’re as light as a feather.” 

Before Seungmin can speak another word to counter him, Hyunjin surges up and closes the space between them, capturing Seungmin’s soft lips in his warm one.

The movie is long forgotten because their focus now is only on each other.

“Mini,” Hyunjin says as he delicately threads his fingers through Seungmin’s silky hair, feeling the soft strands against his fingertips. After their _not-so-little_ kissing, Seungmin puts the laptop away and pulls Hyunjin to lay down on the bed, letting himself be wrapped in Hyunjin’s warmth. It is a single bed, yet strangely it fits for the two of them. Seungmin rests his head on Hyunjin’s chest and drapes his arm over him. Seungmin’s fluffy hair tickles his neck, and he likes the feeling of it.

It’s cosy and nice. Hyunjin thinks he can get used to this.

“Mini?” Seungmin cranes his neck up and meets Hyunjin’s eyes. His gaze is soft and curious, and Hyunjin’s heart melts. 

“Can I call you Mini?” Hyunjin asks, blinking his eyes cutely. “It’s cute, and it fits you.”

“Um.” Seungmin turns quiet, taking his time to think about it. His brows move around slightly and his lips are pursed adorably. A sweet smile graces his face, and he replies, “Only if I get to call you Hyunie.”

Hyunjin grins immediately, eyes gleaming. “That’s a really cute nickname. I like it. Anyway, I really need to do my assignments right now.”

“Then, let me go,” Seungmin teases. He giggles softly and nuzzles his face into Hyunjin’s chest.

Hyunjin tightens his grip around Seungmin’s body and places a brief kiss on the top of his head. “But you’re so warm, so comfy. I refuse to let you go.”

Neither of them says anything after that, letting the comfortable silence take over. A few moments later, Hyunjin feels Seungmin shifting around, seemingly like he’s uncomfortable, or something.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Hyunjin asks, concerned.

There’s a silence before Seungmin speaks, “Can I ask you about something?” His voice is hesitant.

“Sure…," Hyunjin answers, unsure. He has a hunch about what Seungmin is about to ask him. “What is it?”

Using a hand to push himself to sit, Seungmin turns to face Hyunjin. The latter follows suit, concerned is written all over his face. The brunet takes a deep breath and exhales. His eyes are wary and seem conflicted.

“Why,” Seungmin pauses, “Why did you avoid me after the term break? Don’t deny it because _I know_ you were avoiding me.”

Upon hearing it, Hyunjin's body stiffens, his heart rate rises. A lump quickly builds up in his throat. Despite knowing that Seungmin would ask him that question on any day, he’s never ready for it. He feels like his heart just detaches and drops to the ground the moment his brain registers it. The reality is more nerve-wracking and unnerving than the possible scenarios that he has played over and over again in his head.

Tongue-tied, Hyunjin doesn’t say anything and lets Seungmin finish talking.

“It hurt me, a little, every time you turned me down whenever I asked you out to lunch or to a quick dinner, though at first I totally understood that you might be busy. We all were. You agreed only when Jisung or Minho or Felix joined us. That was when I realized that you didn’t want to be alone with me. I was planning on asking you out when we’re done with final exams, but when you started to avoid me, I was...confused,” Seungmin pauses, breathing shakily. He lowers his head and stares down at the mattress, fingers anxiously fiddling with the blanket.

“You flirted with me for the whole six weeks and suddenly you just stopped altogether. I was thinking, maybe I got it all wrong. Maybe you were just being nice to me all along, and I made a mistake reading it in the other way, but that's fine. That's on me. But it started to hurt more when we didn’t talk to each other as much as we used to. Even if you don't like me that way, I just wanted us to be friends.”

Hyunjin’s heart breaks, feeling as if being sliced by a blunt piece of shattered glass over and over again. What makes him feel the worst is that he was the one who hurt Seungmin. Nobody else but him. And that fact hits him hard. His throat is burning, feeling extremely guilty.

“I'm sorry that I hurt you so much, Seungmin," Hyunjin says, voice almost breaking. He hesitantly reaches his hand out, attempting to hold Seungmin’s hand, and when the brunet doesn’t move his hand away, he gently places his hand on Seungmin’s and gives a light squeeze. He holds his hand for some time before finding his voice again. “I was convinced that you liked someone else. That night when your friends came to visit, I saw you kissed one of them, so I thought—"

Seungmin swiftly looks up, eyes grow wide, completely stunned. He cuts him off instantly, “You thought...you thought I liked my friend?” 

Hyunjin gives a slow, shallow nod.

Silence. Seungmin's surprise expression fades and is replaced with a serious one. "Idiot. You're an idiot," he deadpans, staring at him dead in the eyes. "I flirted with you back _if_ you didn’t notice, and my best friends are already dating each other."

Hyunjin furrows his brows, confused. Hesitantly, he asks, "Then, the kiss—"

"Hyunjin, it was forehead and cheek kisses,” Seungmin cuts him off again, heaving a sigh, “Not to mention, the cheek kiss was completely forced."

The realization hits him and leaves Hyunjin with an open mouth as his stare hangs in the air. It's not what he thinks he's seen. " _Oh_." 

Seungmin gazes at him with an unreadable expression, tilting his head slightly. His hands are placed on the hips. "What do you mean by _'oh'_?"

Hyunjin presses his lips into a line and hurriedly averts his gaze, feeling a big wave of shame washing over him. His face might be burning at the moment.

"Hyunjin." Seungmin's voice is calm, despite his slightly stern tone.

"Well…," Hyunjin begins, warily looking at Seungmin who's boring a hole through his sharp gaze. "It was dark and hazy, and the car headlights were beaming toward me. I might not see it properly…"

It takes a moment for Seungmin to register what Hyunjin says. His eyes widen when his brain _finally_ connects the dots. A disbelief gasp escapes his mouth. "And you thought I kissed my friend on the lips. Oh, my God. Ew, gross.” He scrunches his face sourly, completely disgusted at the thought of it. Letting out a defeated sigh, he shakes his head at Hyunjin. “You're really an idiot."

"But you like this idiot," Hyunjin replies quickly, displaying a nervous grin. 

"Oh, shut up, Hyunjin," Seungmin grumbles, rolling his eyes.

"Look.” Hyunjin takes Seungmin’s both hands in his own, holding them dearly. “I'm _really_ sorry. What I did was terrible. It can't be excused. I was...a coward. Even if you like someone else, I shouldn't have avoided you. Just that,” he pauses, “...this is going to sound like a complete excuse. That night, I wasn't really myself. So when I saw it, naturally my brain just...put an instant barrier, and I ended up not dealing with it at all. _It's messed up_ , I know," his voice trails off by the end of the sentence. He gives an apologetic smile and lowers his head. 

"Hyun—"

Oblivious to Seungmin's calling, Hyunjin continues to ramble, “I absolutely understand if you can’t forgive me, but I’m _really really_ sorry, and I regret every bit of it. I—”

“Hyunjin!” Seungmin calls out his name a little louder, stopping him at once. When Hyunjin finally raises his head and looks at him in the eyes, Seungmin smiles. “Promise me something and I'll forgive you.”

Hyunjin's eyes grow wide. He eagerly nods. “Anything for you.”

“If something like this ever comes up while we’re dating—”

“You still want to date me?” Hyunjin asks in a tiny voice, lips forming a pout. His eyes are glistening, feeling touched, and emotional.

Seungmin glares sharply at him and Hyunjin zips his mouth immediately, cowering in defeat. “If something like this ever comes up again, promise me that you will talk to me. Because even silly small things can turn into huge misunderstandings if you don’t. If anything, communicate with me instead of pushing me away.”

Raising his hand on the shoulder level, Hyunjin smiles confidently. “I promise. And Kim Seungmin?”

Seungmin’s brows arch upward in response, anticipating Hyunjin’s next words.

“Will you go out with me?”

Seungmin stares at him with a blank face for a good minute, making Hyunjin’s stomach flip nervously. There’s a long torturing quiet filling the air before a bright, fond grin makes its way to Seungmin's adorable face. “Yes, of course, Hwang Hyunjin. Wouldn’t want to miss that.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**To: Hyunie**

Hyunjin

No

Hyunie

It'll take me a while to get used to that

Are you sleeping?

It's one o'clock in the morning and Seungmin can't sleep. He wishes he's already in the world of dreams. Having a fixed sleeping schedule is almost impossible in college, though it could work if one is dedicated enough. But Seungmin, he really tries.

Seungmin has an early morning class. It's 1am and he's in trouble.

He stares at the dim screen of his phone, somehow waiting to see if Hyunjin's asleep yet. After a full minute of no reply, he decides to put it aside and tries to get some sleep (again). A few soft _dings_ greet his ears a moment later. He picks up the phone to see replies from Hyunjin, lips automatically pulling into a soft smile.

**Hyunie**

Not yet

Why aren't you?

Can't sleep?

**Seungmin**

Yeah

**Hyunie**

Were you thinking of me that you can’t sleep?

Seungmin rolls his eyes, quickly typing back a reply.

**Seungmin**

Keep dreaming

**Hyunie**

Hehe just teasing you :P

Is it because of the musical play tomorrow?

I'm pretty sure you'll do great

**Seungmin**

Maybe?

I just feel restless, I guess

My eyes won't shut

**Hyunie**

Fancy a late-night drive?

**Seungmin**

Just a late-night drive?

**Hyunie**

…

Seungmin stifles a laugh. He almost can feel Hyunjin is staring at him with a pair of narrowed eyes, judging him. Three small dots appear on the screen, indicating Hyunjin is typing again.

**Hyunie**

Would you care to join me on a wondrous midnight romantic adventure, Prince Kim Seungmin? I mayhaps could shower you with royal kisses while we’re at it.

**Seungmin**

LOL classic

I'd love to

**Hyunie**

See you in five minutes?

Seungmin doesn’t reply, but he climbs out of the bed instead, careful with his movement so that he doesn’t make noises that could possibly wake Jisung up. His roommate has just barely slipped into his bed five minutes before Seungmin texts Hyunjin. Though he knows Jisung is a heavy sleeper and could fall asleep the moment he crashes his head on the pillow, Seungmin still doesn’t want to take his chance. He shuffles over to his wardrobe, grabs a hoodie, and slips it over his white tee, deciding to change his loose sweatpants into jeans after that.

It’s exactly five minutes later Seungmin steps out of the room and finds Hyunjin is already waiting in the hallway. The first thing he notices is how quickly Hyunjin’s expression morphs from his usual neutral face to the brightest expression the moment their eyes lock. His messy raven hair, his blinding smile, and crinkled eyes struck him for the first five seconds.

The second thing he notices is their matching outfits. Exactly the same: a grey hoodie with black jeans.

Seungmin has to take a double look, _literally_ , to make sure he’s seeing it right.

“Oh!” Hyunjin exclaims. His eyes slightly widen, lips part in surprise when his eyes travel down to his clothes, pointing a finger to Seungmin and back to him. His mouth pulls into a knowing smirk. “Soulmate things.”

Seungmin stifles a laugh, not wanting to disturb his dorm neighbors. He nods, agreeing with Hyunjin. “Soulmate things,” he repeats happily.

"Mm-hmm." Hyunjin clears his throat, putting a hand behind his back and another is pressed at his front, bowing slightly and keeping his eyes down at the floor. "It's a pleasure to have you, His Royal Highness, Prince of Seoul, Kim Seungmin, for our wondrous midnight romantic adventure. I, Hwang Hyunjin, the Royal Guard of SKZ College, would be honored to escort you." 

Seungmin giggles softly, amused at the whole act, totally entertained.

Hyunjin politely holds out a palm, eyes still remain at the floor. "Would it be rude for me to have your hand, my dear prince?"

"Not at all." Seungmin reaches out his hand and places it on Hyunjin's palm, squeezing it lightly. Hyunjin looks up and meets Seungmin's eyes with his fond smile, intertwining their fingers.

"You're so good at this," Seungmin points out, his smile not leaving his face. "You should probably try for our musical play next semester. I could propose a royal kingdom theme."

"Only if you're the prince I'm going to fall in love with." Hyunjin winks, smiling cheekily.

Seungmin rolls his eyes in irritation before snickering. "You're such a flirt."

"Yeah, only with you though." Hyunjin winks again.

"Oh well, my dearest, I'll go crazy if you flirt with other people," Seungmin warns, pointing a finger to Hyunjin with an angry face, to which the latter finds extremely endearing. His heart melts at the sight.

"Cute. You're like a baby tiger," Hyunjin casually coos and brings his free hand up. "Rawr!" he roars cutely in a soft voice while imitating the way a baby tiger would claw. He giggles softly, absolutely pleased, when Seungmin's face morphs into a scowl, sulking.

Ten minutes later they hit the road. Hyunjin offers to drive, saying something like “You’re my prince, and I’m your royal guard, so it makes sense that if I’m the one driving.” 

Seungmin has to laugh at how Hyunjin is still immersed in the whole royal thing. He can’t say he’s not loving it. In fact, he’s loving it a _little_ too much. That’s how he ends up at the passenger seat with their hands intertwined together.

The road is fairly quiet. There are two or three vehicles passing them every once a while. Neither of them talk. The car is only filled with the soft sound of slow music that's playing on the radio. Seungmin stares out the window, watching the moving scenery. He rolls down the window, letting the night breeze hits his face. 

It’s cold, and it sends a shudder to his spine, but it's nice.

Seungmin’s eyes naturally travel up to the night sky. The full moon is bright. The stars are blinking. He’s quietly admiring the stunning view when a thought comes to his mind. With a swift turn to Hyunjin, he wears a dazzling smile.

“Let’s go on a date! Your ideal date.”

Seungmin doesn’t miss the way Hyunjin’s face lights up in joy.

As expected, the field is empty. There’s no else, but two of them there. It’s the same field where the Light Fest is held, the one that they come to their group assignment. Watching how only the moon and stars are decorating the sky, Seungmin suddenly misses the festival. He wishes to visit the festival again with Hyunjin the next time it happens.

“Do you perhaps have a mat in your car?” Hyunjin’s voice snaps Seungmin out of his trance. He turns to his back to see Hyunjin looking at him expectantly with raised brows. Seungmin doesn’t know how a mat _magically_ ends up in his car boot. He doesn’t remember putting it in there, or owning a mat for that matter. 

But either way, now they have a mat and they can lie down on it comfortably while watching the twinkling stars in the night sky under the moonlight.

Seungmin is the first one to get down and lie on his back, and then followed by Hyunjin, except that he trips and falls on top of Seungmin. He thankfully doesn’t crush the human being under him, who groans in pain at first but somehow ends up giggling in amusement.

"You're so clumsy," Seungmin comments, still giggling softly. He doesn't make an effort to push Hyunjin away from him, but instead, he stares lovingly into his eyes. Smiling softly, he reaches his hand up and tucks the hair strands that fall into Hyunjin's eyes behind his ear. “You’re so breathtaking," he says, admiring the one and only beauty in front of him.

Cheeks beginning to dust with a light pink blush, a sheepish smile graces Hyunjin’s face. Seungmin places his palm on Hyunjin’s cheek. It’s warmer than usual.

“Aw. I think you’re blushing. Wish it isn’t that dark here so that I can see the pretty crimson red across your cheeks,” Seungmin coos, smiling teasingly.

Hyunjin hurriedly averts his gaze and shyly giggles. “Shut up." He pushes himself to get up, but Seungmin holds his hand, preventing him from doing so and then earning a confused look from the guy.

Seungmin's eyes flicker down to Hyunjin's inviting lips. Despite being in the dark and only illuminated by the moon, his lips never stop looking so plump and full. His heart is beating loudly in the ribcage. The desire to feel it against his own lips increases every second. He _badly_ wants them, right now.

"Kiss me. I want my royal kisses now," Seungmin whispers, urging him.

Hyunjin's mouth quirks upward on one side immediately. He gently slides a hand to the back of Seungmin's nape while he uses another to support his weight. He leans down, bringing their faces so close, warm breath fanning against each other's skin. "My pleasure," Hyunjin whispers, closing the space between them and pressing their lips together.

Seungmin and Hyunjin splay out on the mat side by side, legs tangled together despite their bodies aren’t touching. Their gazes are fixed on the starry sky, quietly enjoying the view above them. The crickets are chirping somewhere in the bushes behind them.

“The view is mesmerizing, isn’t it?” Hyunjin asks, breaking the comfortable silence they have for a while now.

Seungmin smiles, cheekily. There's something in his mind and he needs to say it quickly. “It is, but I personally think you’re way more mesmerizing, dazzling, and gorgeous in my eyes.”

Hyunjin's mouth gapes open, his eyes widen, amazed. He puts his hand on his chest, feeling his rising heartbeat. Seungmin just does that to him. “Wow. That’s really smooth. I applaud you for that.”

Seungmin grins happily, proud of himself. “By the way, how did watching the stars become your ideal date?” he asks, genuinely curious.

“I liked astronomy a lot as a kid. I read a lot of books about it. Every night I would watch the sky at least for half an hour before I went to sleep. I was that obsessed, and I didn’t know how my parents dealt with me back then because I talked about the planet and stars all the time.” 

Hyunjin laughs gleefully at the memory. 

“It died down not long after that. And somehow when I was fifteen, I discovered a bunch of photos of a full moon, the night sky, and the stars that I took when I was a kid. The photos were mediocre since I used a film camera. After that, I started to take a photo of the stars for fun. It was then I developed my interest in photography. So, I made a promise to myself that I would bring the special someone to watch the stars so that they know I appreciate them as much as I appreciate the stars.”

Seungmin’s mouth couldn't help but break into a wide smile. “You’re unbelievably sappy.”

“But you like sappy,” Hyunjin counters quickly.

“Yeah, I do like sappy, and most importantly, I like you more,” Seungmin replies casually, smiling in satisfaction when Hyunjin sheepishly smacks his arm. Seungmin frowns after that, a flash of memory floods his mind. “Can you believe the reason I was into photography because I thought the photos I took were pretty?”

Hyunjin erupts into laughter, completely amused. “Really?”

“No kidding.”

Hyunjin shifts his weight to face Seungmin, who's completely engrossed in watching the mesmerizing starry sky. Their surroundings are dark, but the light illuminated from the full moon allows Hyunjin to admire the most beautiful human being before his eyes. He adoringly studies Seungmin's sharp features, eyes slowly tracing his long, pretty eyelashes, the sparkly glistening pair of dark brown irises, the pretty shape of his nose, and the inviting curve of his pink lips. 

Hyunjin really wants to jump on the brunet and kiss that soft lips right now, but his wandering mind suggests otherwise. There's a question that's been bugging his mind as of lately. It's more like it returns to the surface after he shoves it down deep to the back of his mind.

"Mini," Hyunjin calls, and Seungmin hums in response. "Can I ask you something?" he asks and reaches a finger out to poke Seungmin's dumpling cheek. It barely grazes his cheek when Seungmin shifts his position and lies on his side facing Hyunjin. He rests his head on one arm. Their eyes are locked, staring into each other's souls for some time that feels like an eternity.

"Sure. Ask away," Seungmin replies and waits.

Hyunjin licks his lips. A little nervous. "Okay. Why….Why did you move college? Usually, people who move college would start anew. You know, when they don't find the major they're taking suits them, they start over. But it's different for you. You're literally moving colleges without changing the major."

Seungmin is silent for the next few minutes, and Hyunjin does nothing else but wait.

"Remember when I told you I used to live in the city?" he begins, and Hyunjin rapidly nods. "I liked living there. I loved where I lived, and I wanted to live there for the rest of my life, but things happened," Seungmin pauses, seeming to take a breath.

Hyunjin reaches out his hand, tenderly threads under Seungmin's palm, and then gently intertwines their fingers. He squeezes it lightly, trying to comfort him, telling him that he’s there.

"Two years ago, I lost someone I loved. Things became different. I could no longer see things there the same way I did before anymore. Everything just hurt, so that was why I decided to move. I was fortunate that my previous college was willing to make an arrangement for me. So, here I am." 

A sad smile appears on Seungmin's face, along with a pair of glistening eyes. He tries not to shed tears.

"Who was it that you lost?" Hyunjin carefully asks. He tenderly kisses the top of Seungmin's hand, letting it linger before he pulls away.

"My older brother. He was six years older than us."

"What about your family? Are they still living there?" Hyunjin asks, gently caressing Seungmin’s thumb with his own, attempting to comfort him in any way possible.

Seungmin nods once. "Yeah, they are. As much as I wanted to stay, I couldn't handle it anymore, so I left.” He lets out a sigh. “Sometimes you need a new environment to be able to move on, though the memories still come flooding in once in a while.”

"Does it still hurt? The memories?"

Seungmin tightens his grip on their entwined hands. He takes a while to reply. "Sometimes. But it gets better now. Living here these few months definitely helps. I thought it would be hard to make friends since usually people already know each other during 2nd year and I’m not really good at making new friends,” he pauses and looks at Hyunjin in the eyes. A grateful smile graces his face. _Bright_ and _radiant_. “...but then I met you, I met Jisung and Minho, I met Felix, though we’re only acquaintances so far, he counts nonetheless. I’m grateful to have met all of you here. It made me realize that I made a _hella_ good decision to come here.”

Hyunjin breaks into a fond smile, eyes crinkling into crescents. “I’m glad that I met you too. You're such a wonderful gift for me, for us. My life won't be the same without you.” He leans forward and presses a kiss on Seungmin's forehead. "You did well, Mini. I'm proud of you."

"Mini. I'm cold," Hyunjin whines in a tiny voice. It's twenty minutes into two o’clock in the morning. They've been splaying out in the open field for more than an hour now. Seungmin checks the time on his phone. 

"It's late. We should go back to the dorm.”

"Ten minutes more," Hyunjin pleads cutely, lips pouting. He adds, "Mini. I'm still cold."

Seungmin chuckles. "Hyunie, just say that you want a hug. Come in here." He opens his arms and lets Hyunjin scoot inside, snuggling up to Seungmin, feeling the warmth. Seungmin wraps his arms around Hyunjin's body, tightening his grip.

Comfortably burying his face in Seungmin's chest, Hyunjin speaks in a tiny muffled voice, "I could, but being subtle and waiting for you to figure it out is fun.”

Seungmin is the first one to flicker his eyes open, taking him a good minute to get used to the bright light that's coming from everywhere. When his vision is finally used to the light, his eyes are greeted by the beautiful face of the soundly sleeping Hyunjin, eyes shut tight, hair messily falls into his face, his chest rises and falls steadily. A soft smile graces his face, quietly admiring the beauty. 

Despite the number of times he wakes up next to Hyunjin lately, either he's in Hyunjin's arms or Hyunjin is in his arms, Seungmin still couldn't get used to how beautiful Hyunjin looks right before his eyes. He's snapped from his admiring trance when Hyunjin scrunches his face from the strong sunlight that's directed straight at him. Seungmin cranes his neck up, the sun is high, and one thing rushes into his mind before he goes on _full-mode_ panic:

They're late for the last class of the semester.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading until the end! Hope you've enjoyed! Kudos and comments are highly appreciated.
> 
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/mintchocthusiast)


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